The future appears to be now for the Hannibal girls basketball team.
After losing a large class of seniors following the 2008-09 season, the Lady Pirates knew some new faces would have to step into larger roles. Simply put, Hannibal is looking to rebuild.
The Lady Pirates may not look the same as they did last season, but head coach Becky Monachino isn’t discouraged.
“The face of our team has changed, but we are really excited about the future,” Monachino said. “When people believe and work hard, things happen for them. That’s what we are looking forward to.”
With just weeks of practice under their belt, the new-look Lady Pirates are already showing signs to Monachino that the reloading process might not be that painful.
“I feel really great,” Monachino said. “We’re in a rebuilding process, but we have some great young freshmen coming up. ... I just feel great about the possibility of the season.”
Monachino said that the seven-member freshmen class will see action at all three levels of play — freshman team, junior varsity and varsity. While it’s still too early in the season to say who will play where, all the freshmen are expected to contribute.
“They really have step up this year, and they will be a big part of what you see,” Monachino said.
The Lady Pirates won’t be completely devoid of experience. Sophomore Cassidy Trenhaile is expected to play big minutes down-low in the paint. Joining her in the post will be junior Lyndie Mays. Monachino said the strength of her bigs will be a key for the Lady Pirates. The plan, at least early on, is to feed the ball down low for easy shots from Trenhaile and Mays.
“They are really coming along — I’m really, really excited about them,” Monachino said.
Another wrinkle in the Hannibal offense will be how many guards are on the floor at any given time. Monachino said she expects Hannibal to play with both a four-guard and three-guard front for stretches of the game.
“We’re going to be small, but we’re going to be quick,” Monachino said. “We’re going to try and take advantage of those characteristics.”
Another non-freshman the Lady Pirates will be looking at to contribute will be Alyson Conn. The junior is recovering from a torn ACL, but she did play softball in the fall. Monachino said that Conn, if healthy, can give the team a much-needed deep threat.
While the offense will spend its game looking for easy buckets, the Lady Pirates defense will spend its energy making sure the other team gets nothing easy. Through the first few weeks of practice, Monachino said she hopes her defense will be a strength of the team.
The defense will vary from game to game, but Monachino said she expects to throw any kind of look at the other team. The Lady Pirates will press, play man-to-man — do whatever it takes to make sure the opposition has to work for its points.
“We are going to be pressing because we have some quickness, especially in our underclass,” Monachino said. “We are going to try and hold teams down as far as points go. ... We’re going to mix it up a little bit.”
Highland will be the first test for the Lady Pirates. The Cougars will come into Korf Gynmasium on Monday for the Hannibal home- and season-opener. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow.
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The future appears to be now for the Hannibal girls basketball team.
After losing a large class of seniors following the 2008-09 season, the Lady Pirates knew some new faces would have to step into larger roles. Simply put, Hannibal is looking to rebuild.
The Lady Pirates may not look the same as they did last season, but head coach Becky Monachino isn’t discouraged.
“The face of our team has changed, but we are really excited about the future,” Monachino said. “When people believe and work hard, things happen for them. That’s what we are looking forward to.”
With just weeks of practice under their belt, the new-look Lady Pirates are already showing signs to Monachino that the reloading process might not be that painful.
“I feel really great,” Monachino said. “We’re in a rebuilding process, but we have some great young freshmen coming up. ... I just feel great about the possibility of the season.”
Monachino said that the seven-member freshmen class will see action at all three levels of play — freshman team, junior varsity and varsity. While it’s still too early in the season to say who will play where, all the freshmen are expected to contribute.
“They really have step up this year, and they will be a big part of what you see,” Monachino said.
The Lady Pirates won’t be completely devoid of experience. Sophomore Cassidy Trenhaile is expected to play big minutes down-low in the paint. Joining her in the post will be junior Lyndie Mays. Monachino said the strength of her bigs will be a key for the Lady Pirates. The plan, at least early on, is to feed the ball down low for easy shots from Trenhaile and Mays.
“They are really coming along — I’m really, really excited about them,” Monachino said.
Another wrinkle in the Hannibal offense will be how many guards are on the floor at any given time. Monachino said she expects Hannibal to play with both a four-guard and three-guard front for stretches of the game.
“We’re going to be small, but we’re going to be quick,” Monachino said. “We’re going to try and take advantage of those characteristics.”
Another non-freshman the Lady Pirates will be looking at to contribute will be Alyson Conn. The junior is recovering from a torn ACL, but she did play softball in the fall. Monachino said that Conn, if healthy, can give the team a much-needed deep threat.
While the offense will spend its game looking for easy buckets, the Lady Pirates defense will spend its energy making sure the other team gets nothing easy. Through the first few weeks of practice, Monachino said she hopes her defense will be a strength of the team.
The defense will vary from game to game, but Monachino said she expects to throw any kind of look at the other team. The Lady Pirates will press, play man-to-man — do whatever it takes to make sure the opposition has to work for its points.
“We are going to be pressing because we have some quickness, especially in our underclass,” Monachino said. “We are going to try and hold teams down as far as points go. ... We’re going to mix it up a little bit.”
Highland will be the first test for the Lady Pirates. The Cougars will come into Korf Gynmasium on Monday for the Hannibal home- and season-opener. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow.
