Tabitha Howard’s days of chucking it from way out may be over.

The speedy Tensas Academy guard will still cause havoc along with her teammates in the press this season, but now the junior will be asked to do a little more. She and others may have to help out in the post in the half-court offense to help make what was a solid Lady Chiefs team last year even better.

The Lady Chiefs lost just two seniors from last year’s team that qualified for MPSA Overall, and they’re ranked No. 1 among schools in the Miss-Lou this season as 2004-05 season officially kicks off Monday at the Adams Christian Girls’ Tip-Off Tournament.

&uot;A lot of us who never played the post will have to play to down low,&uot; said Howard, whose team finished 25-8 last season while finishing fourth at the state tournament. &uot;We have a lot of guards, but I’ll have to play down low. Coach told me I was going to play some, and I’ll do my best. I’m used to playing guard, so it’s going to be a big change.&uot;

That may be the only change the Lady Chiefs have to make this season after losing just two seniors from a year ago and armed with five juniors that make the team go. The team used its quickness last year in the press to get up on people, and now an improved inside game may make them a double threat.

&uot;It’s a good group of girls to work with,&uot; second-year head coach Chuck Bauerle said. &uot;They’re hard workers, and they’ll play hard. We won’t have a ball-handling problem &045; we really won’t. We ought to be a little more experienced, although we will miss our two seniors from last year.

&uot;It sounds crazy, but it’s true &045; the secret to success on any level is getting them to play hard all the time, defensive intensity, what you have inside and the ability to shoot the basketball.&uot;

Howard and Bauerle may move down to the post area on occasion to help budding junior Whitney Alford, a lanky 5-10 post who improved her game as the season progressed. Alford poured in 16 points in a game at Trinity Episcopal toward the end of last season in a game that sewed up the regular season district title.

The Lady Chiefs will also have two others in the middle with junior Caity Rogers and forward Jordan Lentz, ensuring anyone can get inside along with Alford and contribute in the post.

&uot;Whitney has been working hard,&uot; senior point guard Sarah Beth Melville said. &uot;She improved so much last year. It was a surprise. She’ll be our main inside player, but we have a bunch of girls who can play up top and down low. We’re having to learn how to do everything.&uot;

The team’s overall height is good for the Class A level and could create mismatch problems on the guards with Howard and

Megan Bauerle running the press. Churck Bauerle is trying to pattern his sort of after that Riverdale team two seasons ago that didn’t have a dominant inside game but instead featured a number of 5-8 or 5-9 girls who could each handle the ball, play defense and score.

&uot;When you get to the better teams, you expect everybody to play hard,&uot; Bauerle said. &uot;You expect them to have good defense. It hinges on our ability to execute in the half-court on both ends, but especially on the offensive end.

&uot;Whitney is going to do much better this year. She just improved so much over the summer and last year. If she does again this year, it’ll be just a big asset.&uot;

The combination and last year’s success has as a result led to high expectations this season. The Lady Chiefs may be a step quicker this year in the press, but an improved inside game will match them up better against the teams from the northwest Louisiana district and in the state tournament.

Yet they’re just taking it one game at a time.

&uot; Coach said we shouldn’t listen to all that,&uot; Melville said. &uot;We want it real bad. We want to make it back to Overall this year. We’re not going to get big heads about it. We know how that goes.&uot;

Trinity Episcopal

As good as things turned out last season for the Lady Saints, head coach Melanie Hall really likes how this team is shaping up.

Funny thing is it’s coming in the team’s debut season at the Class AA level. But the team lost just one senior from last year’s team that got to South State as the No. 2 seed in district with a bunch of sophomores, so the experience could be a real benefit this season.

&uot;I’m real thankful,&uot; Hall said. &uot;I’m just blessed with such great young ladies to work with. Our chemistry is just super, and that’s critical. They worked hard this summer in the weight room, and I had several playing AAU basketball. They went through a pretty rugged preseason program, and now they’re excited to just play.&uot;

The Lady Saints have a ton of experience with guards Sierra Massey and Mallory Archer, a combo who scored just under 27 points a game last year. Archer is the team’s biggest threat to score, and she may get more opportunities to do so now that Molly Butts will take over the point guard duties.

Massey is the team’s only senior, and Laura Jo Hurt will return in the post area.

&uot;All the time (Archer) she played at point guard made her stronger and makes us that much stronger,&uot; Hall said. &uot; Laura Jo improved a lot last year, and she is much-improved from the summer. Courtney Timm is also improved. I can’t say enough about all the kids. I feel like we’re farther along this year right now than we were last year. I really think we’ll surprise some people. We’ll just have to see.&uot;

Adams Christian

The changes are plenty with the Lady Rebels for this season. A new coaching staff will step in and work with a five new starters after last year’s five graduated.

Headmaster John Gray will coach the team with Kyle Smith serving as an assistant. The Lady Rebels have just three seniors, but all they may need is some game experience to get everything ironed out.

&uot;The nucleus of this team coming up is a lot of 10th graders, and we only have three seniors of the 14 who are out,&uot; Gray said. &uot;But they have worked real hard. I think they’ll get better each game. There’s nothing like having experience in basketball &045; a lot of game experience. Until we get that, we’ll make a lot of mistakes. But they give 100 percent, and that’s why I enjoy working with them.&uot;

The Lady Rebels will lean on seniors Joy Wynn, Jenna Yelverton and Nikki Emanuel this season, each getting limited experience coming off the bench last season. A key returner may be Brittany Gamberi, a speedy junior who was one of the team’s better defenders coming off the bench last season.

The inside game will feature Meghann Austin, Mattie Geoghegan and Arianna DeLaSalle.

&uot;(Gamberi) played a lot, and I expect her to run the program for us and be the quarterback of the team,&uot; Gray said. &uot;The guards are making their mistakes, and most of them are passing mistakes. You can make that pass in junior high, but you can’t make it in high school. They’re going to be a good basketball team, but it’s a question of how long it’s going to take to mature and grow.&uot;

Huntington

What was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Lady Hounds last season didn’t necessarily turn out that way, and now the bulk of the team is returning &045; with one addition.

The Lady Hounds have Krystal Arnold in the post to play alongside Erin Hedrick in what could become one of the better inside teams in the area. Arnold transferred from Natchez High and will team up with the team’s normal assortment of quick guards who can all play defense.

&uot;I feel like we’re well-balanced,&uot; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;The biggest thing I see with Krystal is she can do a lot more than she thinks she can do. She just needs a little more confidence in herself. Erin has to play the post, but she’s not a true center. That’s going to take the pressure off of her.&uot;

The team may just need some game experience now. The Lady Hounds have the guards with Katie Moak, Jessie Lee and Emily Anders and have a bench who will press for significant playing time.

It may just be a matter of everyone meshing and finding their roles.

&uot;They looked pretty good (at the jamboree),&uot; Penny Moak said. &uot; The five I had starting, you could tell they really hadn’t been together as a team. But they started to do better as a team. In the first game every time we got it to Krystal, she did a good job. We just didn’t get it into her enough. I’ve got a good 10, and I may not have the same five starters every game.&uot;

Centreville

The Lady Tigers won’t have standout player Jenae Jackson to lean on this year, and that may turn out to be a good thing.

Jackson, now at Southern Miss, was responsible for almost 20 points a game last season for a Lady Tigers team that was young along the perimeter. But now the younger girls will have to step up, and look for seniors Kelly Simpson and Ash Brashier to pick up the slack.

WCCA

The Lady Rams return some key players from last season, but the biggest returner may be post player Erin Ashley.

The 5-10 senior averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season, numbers she could improve on this season. A key will be how well the guards can play this season if the Lady Rams are to improve from last season’s record.

&uot;We look for her to have a good year,&uot; said head coach Paul Hayles, who will take over from Sam Byrd this season. &uot;She had a good summer, and so far she’s doing well. She’s got good footwork, and she really worked hard on that.

&uot;It could be an interesting year for this group. They’re working hard. Our ultimate goal is to perform out best when the district tournament starts.&uot;