'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 3 -- Conneaut Lake       11 -- Cochranton,1:30       13 -- at West Middlesex       16 -- Hickory       18 -- Farrell,1:30       20 -- at Commodore Perry       27-28 -- at Neshannock Jan. 6 -- at Sharon       10 -- West Middlesex       13 -- Commodore Perry       15 -- at Meadville,2:30       17 -- at Hickory       20 -- at Mercer       24 -- Reynolds       27 -- Wilmington       31 -- at Greenville Feb. 3 -- Kennedy Christian       7 -- Mercer       10 -- at Reynolds       14 -- at Wilmington       17 -- Greenville       21 -- at Kennedy Christian

By The Herald Sports Staff

The season is just about to kick off for the Blue Darlings, and it already seems fifth-year coach Gus Grandy has a lot on his mind.

He is looking to improve on a 2-21 season with no conference wins. He is working with a team heavy on underclassmen. In addition to those worries, he is also seeing players going down to injuries before they even touch sneaker to hardwood.

"Already this year we have Amanda Gill out with a bad knee, and Maggie Pisarcik is on and off with a bad knee, and she may still need surgery," lamented Grandy. He said Gill may return after Christmas.

Four lettermen return from last year. Leading the Blue Darlings on the floor will be two-year lettermen and seniors Molly Murray and Jessica Pisarcik. Murray scored 49 points and Pisarcik scored 27. The top returning scorer is senior Casey Bonaquist with 62 points. Junior letterwinner Jessica Burnett will also have to step up her play, as she did not score often but did see significant playing time.

"She is very fundamentally sound and works really hard," said Grandy.

Candy Franklin will most likely round out the starting five. From there, it may be all freshmen playing.

"I think you'll see a lot of people seeing a lot of action this year. I'm hoping some of the freshmen will step up, and some of them will probably letter."

This year's Blue Darlings will have the large shoes of departed seniors Jill Andes, Stephanie Haywood and Kristen Kudelko to fill. The trio was responsible for 69 percent of the Blue Darlings' offense, and Andes was named to the Herald's Fabulous 5 second team.

According to coach Grandy, the team to watch in MCAC-AA is Reynolds.

"Boy are they tough this year," he said. "They did really well in the Hickory League, which we played in."

Of other opponents, he highlighted Kennedy Christian as reloading, but still a fine team. The Blue Darlings will also face the likes of Hickory, Sharon, Greenville and Meadville in non-league games.

When speaking of offensive and defensive tactics, coach Grandy was guarded, but he hinted that Sharpsville may play more of a zone this year.

"We always say there's no ŒD' like ŒDarlings D' and we like playing a lot of man, but you'll probably see some zones because we're not that deep this year. We've got to try to stay away from foul trouble."

Grandy's expectations of this year's squad are of an over-.500 season.

"I think [the team] is capable of doing that, if they get out there. If we stay consistent, then we'll be where we want to be," he said. "These girls have worked very hard this year. We've been to Allegheny, we've played in the Hickory League all year, and we've been to a shootout at Mercyhurst. We'll be in the middle of the pack in our league, and that's a good accomplishment to be there."

The assistant coaches are Kathy Tomko, Charles Tomko and Suzanne Joseph.