2002-03 SCHEDULE

Nov. 29 -- at West Forest Nov. 30 -- Commodore Perry Dec. 2 -- West Middlesex Dec. 5 -- at Cambridge Springs* Dec. 6 -- Mercer Dec. 9 -- Saegertown* Dec. 12 -- at Lakeview* Dec. 16 -- Cochranton* Dec. 19 -- Linesville* Dec. 27-28 -- at Commodore Perry Christmas tourney Jan. 2 -- Conneaut Lake* Jan. 6 -- at Union City* Jan. 9 -- at Maplewood* Jan. 13 -- Conneaut Valley* Jan. 16 -- Cambridge Springs* Jan. 20 -- at Saegertown* Jan. 23 -- Lakeview* Jan. 27 -- at Cochranton* Jan. 30 -- at Linesville* Feb. 3 -- at Conneaut Lake* Feb. 6 -- Union City* Feb. 10 -- Maplewood* Feb. 13 -- at Conneaut Valley.*    #=FCVC contest

By The Herald Sports Staff

First-year Jamestown High girls' basketball coach Kevin Reese takes over a program that did not win a game last season, and "team unity" will be the name of the game for the Lady Muskies this year while battling in the French Creek Valley Conference.

"We are shorthanded as it is, and will use the entire bench," confessed Reese. "We have 10 girls back from last year and one new player. We will use the entire bench; junior varsity and varsity girls will both play this year."

The team will be led by seniors Darcy Beck and Kelly Kneeland and a pair of juniors, Kelly Houghton and Jayme Russell.

"Those four are good players," said Reese. "We have lots of freshmen and sophomores, and I really hope the team learns what to do fast. They have played together on the court for several weeks now with a new offense and they look pretty good. Confidence is half the battle. It will be tough because we have five games or so in seven nights and, hopefully, we'll start winning early. Then half the battle is won."

Reese takes over a team that suffered some humbling losses last year, but insisted, "We plan to play great team defense and pressure the other team into making mistakes. Our main goal is to play great defense. Offensively, we will run a triangle, use stuff like back-door cuts. We will try to run the clock as much as we can, too."

The rookie head coach believes one of his team's strengths is chemistry.

"I think that the girls will play together and do a good job due to their chemistry. A lot of them have played together in softball, then volleyball and now basketball. They know each other well, and I hope that chemistry translates itself to the basketball court. It's a huge challeng,e but I am looking forward to it."

The obvious weakness of the team is the low number of girls that are on the team.

"We basically have 11 girls that will play, and that's our No. 1 weakness. We need everyone, every single one of them, to help out in one way or another throughout the year. The key is the word team. They have to play as a team to have success," Reese summarized.

The Lady Muskies, seemingly, have an uphill climb, but Reese welcomed the challenge. "I'm excited to get the season started. Hopefully, we'll win our first few games and get some confidence. If we start out slow, it will be another long year for us."

Reese's assistant coach is Colleen Shine, a former Jamestown High standout. -- By Rob Malsom, Herald writer