Advertisement

For the first time in the modern era, girls basketball in Michigan will be held in the winter along with the boys' programs. All of the Sanilac schools have made adjustments the best they can and are ready to begin the girls' season next week.

The Lady Raiders of Marlette will be the first Sanilac team to tip-off in the winter when they open at USA on Monday, November 26. Sandusky, Deckerville and Brown City teams get underway the next night. Cros-Lex opens on Wednesday and Peck jumps into NCTL play on Friday. CPS will have its season opener on Monday, December 3.

Marlette, which will be a favorite in the GTC East, was missing seven players in the first week of practice because of their participation in volleyball. On top of being a little behind in work, the Lady Raiders may have the toughest early schedule of anyone around. After USA, they visit Warren Woods-Tower, one of the top Class A teams in the state, on Wednesday night (Nov. 28) and then host Lakers on Friday evening (Nov. 30). USA and Lakers are the two favorites in the GTC West this season.

"It's a brutal start," admitted Fred Mroczek, veteran Lady Raider coach. "Because of the change of seasons, we had to drop St. Clair.... and this was the only time we could fit Tower in."

Mroczek will have a tall, veteran team back from a strong season a year ago. However, front-court players like 6' Jenna Lange and 6' Kendra Smith are still looking for their basketball legs and will join 6'1" Kelsey Hall. Another veteran returning is third-year player Catherine Distelrath.

"We're playing a lot of catch-up right now," said Mroczek. "The first week (with only seven players) we got some conditioning in and we introduced some things. This last week we had to re-introduce those things."

Mroczek admits that he is anxious to start playing games, but his team might not be fully clicking until East play gets underway in mid-December.

"This is a year you always wait for. A lot pieces are in place, if we stay healthy. But even though we start next week, we won't be hitting our rhythm for another two or three weeks."

Sandusky coach Al DeMott, who could get his 499th and 500th career coaching wins next week, will have a lot of new faces on varsity after graduating eight talented seniors from the team that went 20-0 in the regular season in '06.

The Lady Redskins still have talent, including All-County players Cassy VanConant, a 6'1" post player, and sophomore guard Marissa DeMott, an outstanding long-range shooter.

"Those two we know about and, hopefully, they'll come through for us again," said DeMott. "We've got tradition and we've got kids in the wings that have been waiting their turn, too."

Sandusky has three other seniors along with VanConant, but the rest of the team consists of underclassmen.

"My biggest concern right now is defense, but we're working hard on it. We lost eight seniors that all could really play defense," remarked DeMott. " Our offense has looked pretty good, though."

Sandusky visits Bad Axe on Tuesday, November 27 to open the season. The Hatchets feature a tall front-court, which includes a 6'4" transfer from Flashing. The home opener is on Friday, November 30 against Yale.

"We'll get our feet wet right away. We've got a lot of young kids, but they've been working hard," said DeMott. "We're eager to get started."