With only eight players, and two guards, on the roster last year, Priest River girls basketball focused on slowing the tempo and playing the post. 

Thanks to a bevy of incoming guards, that era is over, according to head coach Tyler Douglas.  

"This group is just far more athletic, and they can just run," Douglas said. "We want the ball. We want to get in transition and try to score that way, and then on defense, we want to pressure the ball and try to force turnovers." 

Though the Spartans will only have 12 players on the roster this year, seven of them being freshmen, Douglas said he feels confident the team can run a fast offense. Douglas said his goal is to get defenses unorganized in transition to give his players easy scoring looks. 

Captaining Priest River's offense will be sophomore point guard Haley Rice. Douglas said the guard has put a ton of offseason work in and should be better accustomed to the speed of the varsity game. 

"She's super skilled, can really shoot it, and she's our main ball handler," Douglas said of Rice. " She's still pretty young, so there were growing pains last year... but I expect her to just keep getting better and better because of the amount of time she puts into it." 

Supporting Rice will be three upperclassmen, the team's lone senior Haylee Jepson-Church, junior Courtney Whittaker and junior McKinley Burgess-Duquette. Jepson-Church's leadership will be a massive part of the team's success with another young roster, in addition to her athleticism and defensive prowess. 

Whittaker is another player who dedicated her offseason to working on her basketball skills and should provide a Swiss army knife impact across the court. Douglas said Whittaker has no quit in her motor, which should help their defense immensely. 

Burgess-Duquette was a breakout star and arguably the team's best player last year. She'll provide a quality presence in the post and should continue to be a rebounding machine for the Spartans. 

"She will get every single rebound," Douglas said of Burgess-Duquette. "She's really tough to move and super aggressive. I was super jacked that she came out because I wasn't sure she was going to." 

Outside of their returners, Priest River will lean on seven incoming freshmen to fill out the rest of the roster. Douglas said much of the season will be spent laying out the foundation for the freshmen as they adjust to the speed and physicality of varsity play compared to junior high. 

"There's going to be a lot of learning. You're playing varsity basketball, and over half the team are freshmen; they just don't have as many reps," Douglas said. "There's going to be some rough patches, but just as long as we're working hard every day and playing our best basketball, then that's all I care about." 

Priest River's season is set to open by hosting Wallace in a 3A/2A showdown on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at Priest River High. 

Players to watch: McKinley Burgess-Duquette, jr., PF/C; Haley Rice, so., PG; Haylee Jepson-Church, sr., G/F. 

Most anticipated game: @ Newport, Dec. 12  

Schedule: 

Nov. 16 vs. Wallace - 7 p.m. 

Nov. 18 @ Wallace – 7 p.m. 

Nov. 28 @ Cheney – 6:40 p.m. 

Nov. 30 vs. Clark Fork – 6 p.m.

Dec. 1 @ Timberlake – 7 p.m. 

Dec. 3 @ Clark Fork - 6 p.m.

Dec. 4 @ Newport – 4 p.m. 

Dec. 8 @ Bonners Ferry – 7 p.m. 

Dec. 10 vs. Timberlake – 7 p.m. 

Dec. 17 vs. Kellogg – 7 p.m. 

Jan. 9 @ St. Maries – 12 p.m. 

Jan. 14 @ Kellogg – 7 p.m. 

Jan. 20 vs. Non varsity opponent – 6 p.m. 

Jan. 23 vs. Grangeville – 7 p.m. 

Jan. 29 @ Orofino – TBA 

*Schedule as of 11/13, subject to change