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By Jesse Huba

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

The code in sports when you lose a player to injury or graduation is, “next person up.”

That will be the case for the Leechburg girls basketball team after it lost four seniors to graduation.

In fact, senior Beth Mort said she was unsure whether their team would have enough players this season.

“We went on a mission to find girls that would be willing to learn or even re-learn the game,” Mort said.

“A lot of the players we have on our team have played basketball in previous years; however, it had been a long time since they had played for the team.”

Leechburg had a tough time last season, finishing 2-19, but coach Teresa Edinger expects improvement.

Leechburg will consist of just two seniors and juniors, with freshmen filling out the majority of the team. Despite the lack of veteran leadership, Edinger anticipates her players will seize their opportunities.

“We consider this a rebuilding year, and we have only two returning starters from last year's team,” Edinger said.

Two seniors — 5-foot-3 guard-forward Kenzie Young and Mort, a 5-5 forward — are expected to provide most of the leadership.

“Our strength of our team is going to be our speed,” Edinger said. “We don't have a lot of tall players this year, so we need to rely on fast breaks and quickness.”

Edinger and the rest of the team have goals and expectations ready for the season.

“We want to have a competitive year, bring more girls into the program and keep moving forward as a team,” Edinger said.

Mort said the younger players are grasping the offense quickly.

“Kenzie Young and I are seeing the great potential we have with this year's team,” Mort said. “We hope to win some games and show our school what the Leechburg girls basketball team is really capable of.”

Jesse Huba is a freelance writer.

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