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The 2016 girls basketball season is quickly approaching, and the Lady Hornets are back on the court gearing up for their opening game next weekend.

Head Coach: John Davis (4th year, 38-32)
2015 Season Record: 18-8
Key Returners: Lizzie Poirier, Rachael Tuttle, Autum Kitajima, Jessica Grab, Janessa Davis
Player(s) to Watch: Lizzie Poirier, Rachael Tuttle

The Lady Hornets are coming off their best season since 2010, where they were District IV runner-ups and played in their first PIAA State playoff game since the early 2000’s, but graduated 3 seniors off last year’s team in Sarh Ingerick, Alexa Singer, and Jada Jackson. The three combined for 3,056 points the past four seasons, with Ingerick scoring 1,089 of those. The trio also pulled down 1,192 rebounds, with Jackson grabbing 625.

Wellsboro returns a solid core from last season, who saw plenty of playing time, and Coach Davis is hoping that last year’s post-season play will help the girls this season.

“Whenever you have that kind of experience, there’s no replacement for it,” commented Davis. “The girls grew a lot last year and that experience will carry over to this season.”

Lizzie Poirier (268) and Rachael Tuttle (114) were the Lady Hornets’ 2nd and 4th leading scorers last season, and now that Ingerick, Singer, and Jackson have graduated, they will see an increased scoring role in the Hornets’ offense. Poirier had a breakthrough game against Southern Columbia in Districts with a 29-point game. She’ll need to continue those numbers this season.

Tuttle was the team’s leading rebounder (191) and has 324 in two years. The more rebounds she gets will limit opponents’ second-chance scoring plays, creating more offensive opportunities for Wellsboro. Seniors Kitajima, Grab, and Janessa Davis will need to play bigger roles this year and stay out of foul trouble for Wellsboro to win games.

“There are big shoes to fill, fortunately we have a lot of talent and experience coming back,” Davis said. “The question is who will step up to replace those leadership roles from the girls that graduated last year, and that’s the exciting part that I’m looking forward to.”

Wellsboro starts their season on Friday, December 9 in the Muncy Rotary Tournament before their first regular season game with Coudersport on December 12.