The Thanksgiving tournaments have begun and the regular

season is only one week away. The local girls basketball teams

are gearing up for a very competitive winter in both the 4-AAAA

and the 4-AAA divisions.

East Coweta, Fayette County and McIntosh are some of

the stronger teams in the region but they will find some tough

opposition from Griffin. East Coweta made it to the state

championship last year but five members of that team have graduated. This

year's squad returns four seniors and four juniors and, according to

Coach Paula Jones, a return to the state championship is the team's

goal. Some key players for the Lady Indians are seniors Janine

Martin, Suzy Shellnut, Shavonne Middlebrooks and Ashley

Martin. The Indians' strongest point is their depth and they are

bigger at the post position than they have been in the past. East

Coweta opens their regular season at home against Eagles Landing Dec. 1.

Fayette County defeated East Coweta last year before the

playoffs and lost to Griffin in the playoffs but Coach Gene Mustain

is optimistic at his team's chances this year. Seven starters

return from last year's team that went 15-9, including the Lady

Tigers leading scorer and rebounder the past three years, Fayette

County is a big team with a lot of experience. "It is our biggest

strength that many of these girls have been in the program for awhile

and know what to do," said Coach Mustain. The Lady Tigers hope

to win between 18 and 20 games this season and would like to top it

off with a trip to the state playoffs. Fayette County opens their

regular season at LaGrange Dec. 1.

McIntosh returns several key players who have excellent

scoring and leadership capabilities. Senior Megan Jankowski led

the team in scoring last year while senior Kim Schisler led the

team in rebounds. The Chiefs' strengths are the enormous amounts of

defensive pressure they put on teams, combined with their

tremendous athleticism. Coach Steve Kidd has two of his softball players on

the basketball team, Britte Hardy and Sabrina McCord, as well as

a member of the state championship girls cross country team,

Tani Gaan. McIntosh looks to overcome their obstacles by

playing extensive defensive battles and shooting the three.

Though this will be the first, full-length varsity season for

the Starr's Mill Lady Panthers, they played their first varsity game

in last year's regional tournament. The girls faced Salem and

won, without a junior class. This year, all those sophomores are

juniors and the team is hungry for more varsity wins. Junior point

guard Jamie Vining is the team leader. She led the team in steals

last year, averaging six steals a game and effectively dishing the ball

to her teammates. There are still no seniors and both Woodward

Academy and North Clayton promise to be dominating forces in

the region. Coach Teresa Hobbs has been preparing the girls for

varsity play and the Lady Panthers have two transfers ready to

contribute for them this year, C.C. Shipmon, from Sandy Creek,

and Amy Holloway, a great athlete from Virginia. The Starr's

Mill athletic teams do not back down from opponents and with a

little luck the Lady Panthers could be playing in the postseason.

Coach Doug Crane has only set one goal for his Lady

Patriots this year and that is simply to improve. Sandy Creek shot

only 30 percent from the floor last year and better shooting is

obviously the first thing the Lady Patriots will have to improve on. They

are very deep at the guard position. There are three junior

guards, Lauren Hale, Amanda Lambert and Alexis McCoy, who

should see a good deal of playing time. Down low, the Lady Patriots

are strong with 6'0 junior center Ashley Lott and senior

forwards Lauren Boyd and Laura Rabold. Boyd and Rabold offer team

leadership as well as points.Sandy Creek must face Morrow,

Woodward and North Clayton all within the first month. If the team

can improve there may be a run at the end of the season in store for

the Lady Patriots.

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