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By Bill Beckner Jr.

Published: Sunday, December 2, 2012, 12:46 a.m.
Updated: Sunday, December 2, 2012

Sean O'Donnell has a question for his Knoch girls basketball team: Who wants to start?

O'Donnell, set to begin his third season as the Knights' coach, still hadn't picked five starters through two weeks of practice and a scrimmage.

“This is a different situation than what I have had in the past,” O'Donnell said. “I have three new assistant coaches, and we've been talking about who we're going to put on the floor.”

Senior 5-foot-9 forward Sam Logan appears to have secured her starting spot, but her supporting cast still is developing.

“It's Sam and then the rest fighting for four spots,” O'Donnell said. “We're looking for girls to come in and fill roles who don't have a lot of experience.”

Logan, a record-breaking track standout, led the team in scoring (9.2 ppg), 3-pointers made, free throw percentage and assists last season.

She is one of only two seniors on the roster.

“We're going to utilize Sam as much as we can,” O'Donnell said. “We have different personnel, and we'll have to change our looks and the way we do things. What we don't want is to have one girl against five.

“We want to get five to eight girls to play together as a unit.”

Junior 5-10 forward Savanna Steffen saw significant playing time last season and will be asked to increase her role. Juniors Sarah Brasili and Angela Cress also logged varsity minutes as sophomores and will look to add more.

O'Donnell also expects sophomore guard Abbie Thrower to play.

Knoch hasn't had a freshman team for several years, giving the varsity/junior varsity several ninth-grade players. They, too, could end up seeing playing time.

“We have a lot of girls just learning how to play basketball,” O'Donnell said.

Junior 5-11 forward Celina Sanks, the team's top rebounder last year, opted to concentrate on volleyball and put basketball on the shelf.

“We'll miss her,” O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell expects Mars and Hampton to battle for the top spot in 1. Those teams shared the section title last season.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-224-2696 or bbeckner@tribweb.com.

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