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Girls basketball: Area teams ready for new season
08:39 AM CST on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
When the Ryan Lady Raiders take the floor at Weatherford tonight, they’ll be trying to get rolling on what will be a difficult nondistrict schedule before they kick off district play against Wichita Falls Rider in a little more than a month.
The Lady Raiders will be led, once again, by junior guard De’Amber Wilhite, who was named the district’s top defensive player last season and also has been Ryan’s top scoring threat since her freshman season.
One thing the Lady Raiders and head coach Monesha Allen will be searching for is some outside shooting to replace the lethal outside combination of Emily Paramore and Sarah Middleton, who were named to the District 5-4A all-district team last year because of their outside shooting threat.
“In essence, I’m not really worried about [our ability as a team to shoot from the perimeter],” she said. “We have a couple more who can really shoot it.”
Allen said she is looking forward to seeing her team hit the floor again a season after the Lady Raiders saw a district title get away from them in the latter half of the season, as they finished tied in second place with Wichita Falls Rider behind The Colony.
Allen said this year the team as its eyes on the state tournament.
“Obviously everybody wants to go to Austin,” Allen said. “But it’s not about me going to Austin — it’s about every member of this team putting in the effort necessary to give us that chance.”
The other two Denton ISD teams didn’t have as good of fortune as the Lady Raiders did a year ago, but Guyer and Denton are both hoping for better seasons, as Guyer finished sixth in the district and Denton tied for last with Little Elm.
One thing that plagued the Lady Broncos and head coach Dennis Krishka was their overall team height, and Krishka said he’s excited to see a few taller girls on this year’s squad, which has a returning starter in Jasmine Taylor and six sophomores.
The Lady Broncos have a 5-11 player, a 5-10 player and a 5-9 player a year after struggling to compete with other teams’ height in the district.
“I like this group,” Krishka said. “We have a pretty good work ethic and they work well together. They get along well. I see this as a group that has a lot of potential. We have a little size, which is something we haven’t had in the past. We’ll go through some growing pains because of inexperience without question, but I think it’s a group we can build on and look for improvement as season goes along.”
Krishka also said he hopes to return the Lady Broncos to where they were just a short time ago, as they are three years removed from a district title.
“It’s [potential] not something that will be realized right away or maybe not even this season, but it’s something we can build on,” he said. “It wasn’t long ago we won the district championship and that is our ultimate goal is to get back up and be a competitive program again, and we have the nucleus to be able to do that. It’s justa question of how long it takes.”
Guyer head coach Charla Valenzuela circles the date of Feb. 11, 2009, as the re-birth of her program.
That was the day Guyer played its final game last season – a loss to Ryan, and Valenzuela and her coaching staff made some wholesale changes to the program’s attitude and philosophy.
“We sat down and said, ‘This isn’t working for us,’” Valenzuela said. “We revamped our whole philosophy and system. That was Day 1 of our new system, and new coaching philosophies and trying to adapt the system to what we have.”
The Lady Wildcats return two starters in guard Jocelyn Cook and Kailey McEntire and Jasmine Badiru has seen plenty of varsity action at guard and Valenzuela’s team has nine seniors who have all bought into the new system.
“We’ve started over offensively and defensively and decided to make changes,” Valenzuela said. “I’ve been waiting for this day since Feb. 11.”
ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .
Roster
| No. | Name | Class | Pos. |
| 5 | Sydne McDade | Soph. | G |
| 11 | Khaylia Harris | Sr. | F |
| 14 | Alex Pollard | Jr. | G |
| 15 | Dominique Riley | Sr. | P |
| 22 | Dena Dergham | Soph. | F |
| 25 | Erica Mendoza | Jr. | P |
| 30 | Jamecia Brown | Soph. | P |
| 32 | Lena Dergham | Soph. | P |
| 33 | Jasmine Taylor | Soph. | G |
| 35 | Kaille Ralston | Soph. | G |
| 41 | Jamie Portillo | Sr. | P |
| 50 | Angelique Black | Jr. | P |
Head coach: Dennis Krishka
Assistant coaches: Wendell Williams, Jason Shaw, Sara Lowry, Patrick Matous
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Nov. 13 | Whitesboro | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 17 | at Denison | 8 p.m. |
| Nov.19-21 | at Northwest tournament | TBA |
| Nov. 24 | Van Alstyne | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 28 | at Brewer | 1:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 1 | at Azle | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 8 | at Sanger | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 11 | at Birdville | 6 p.m, |
| Dec. 15 | x-at Wichita Falls | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 | x-Ryan | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 28-30 | at Burkburnet tournament | TBA |
| Jan. 2 | x-at Guyer | 3 p.m. |
| Jan. 5 | x-Wichita Falls Rider | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 8 | x-at The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 12 | x-at Lake Dallas | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 15 | x-Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 19 | x-Wichita Falls | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 | x-at Ryan | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 26 | x-Guyer | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 29 | x-at Wichita Falls Rider | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 2 | x-The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 5 | x-Lake Dallas | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 9 | x-at Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
x — District 5-4A match
Roster
| No. | Name | Class | Pos. |
| 00 | Courtney Gregory | Sr. | G |
| 5 | Jasmine Badiru | Sr. | G |
| 10 | Kortney Kuhl | Soph. | G |
| 11 | Jocelyn Cook | Sr. | G |
| 12 | Taylor Willard | Sr. | G |
| 13 | Jasmine Leday | Soph. | G |
| 14 | Caitlin Owens | Sr. | G |
| 15 | Audri Boaldin | Sr. | G |
| 20 | Ashley McEntire | Sr. | P |
| 23 | Kyra Modawell | Jr. | G |
| 30 | Ashley McEntire | Sr. | P |
| 32 | Chelsea Bohannon | Sr. | P |
| 33 | Pam Russell | Sr. | P |
| 40 | Renee Washington | Soph. | P |
Head coach: Charla Valenzuela
Assistant coaches: Todd Bramlett, Beth Phelps, Kristen Treppa
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Nov. 17 | Lovejoy | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 20 | at Burleson | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 23 | Kennedale | 7:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 24 | at Justin Northwest | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 1 | Frisco | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 3-5 | Coca-Cola Tournament | TBA |
| Dec. 8 | Krum | TBA |
| Dec. 10-12 | Denton Co. Tournament | TBA |
| Dec. 15 | x-The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 | x-at Wichita Falls Rider | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 28-30 | Caprock tournament | TBA |
| Jan. 2 | x-Denton | 1:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 5 | x-at Lake Dallas | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 8 | x-Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 12 | x-at Wichita Falls | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 15 | x-Ryan | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 19 | x-at The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 | x-Wichita Falls Rider | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 26 | x-at Denton | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 29 | x-Lake Dallas | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 2 | x-at Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 5 | x-Wichita Falls | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 9 | x-at Ryan | 6 p.m. |
x — District 5-4A match
Roster
| No. | Name | Class | Pos. |
| 1 | De’amber Wilhite | Jr. | G |
| 2 | Ashley Roquemore | Sr. | G |
| 3 | Tasha Ricks | Sr. | G |
| 11 | Paulette Parker | Sr. | G |
| 15 | Daija White | Sr. | G |
| 20 | Halee Clark | Jr. | F |
| 21 | Meghan Forest | Sr. | F |
| 22 | Tiffany Henson | Sr. | F |
| 23 | Teana Ogden | Fr. | G |
| 24 | Keisha Blanson | Sr. | F |
| 32 | Lindsey Blackwell | Sr. | F |
| 33 | Amber Medcafe | Sr. | F |
| 44 | Domineak Darrough | Sr. | P |
Head: Monesha Allen
Assistant coaches: Ronda Bean, Michael Pittman, Erin Hallman
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Nov. 10 | at Weatherford | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 13 | at Southlake Carroll | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 17 | McKinney | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 19-21 | Allen Hoopfest | TBA |
| Nov. 23 | at Allen | 6 p.m. |
| Nov. 24 | Colleyville Heritage | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 1 | Lewisville | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 4 | Lancaster | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 10-12 | Granbury tournament | TBA |
| Dec. 15 | x-Wichita Falls Rider | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 18 | x-at Denton | 7:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 2 | x-Lake Dallas | 1:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 5 | x-at Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 8 | x-Wichita Falls | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 11 | x-The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 15 | x-at Guyer | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 19 | x-at Wichita Falls Rider | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 22 | x-Denton | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 26 | x-at Lake Dallas | 6 p.m. |
| Jan. 29 | x-Little Elm | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 2 | x-at Wichita Falls | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 5 | x-at The Colony | 6 p.m. |
| Feb. 9 | x-Guyer | 6 p.m. |
x — District 5-4A match
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