Last season Todd County Central snuck up on everyone and won the district tournament. With all five starters back this season, theyre not going to have the luxury of surprise again this year. With new coaches at all four schools, the district will have a new look. Franklin-Simpson (16-10)After a 17-year absence from the Franklin-Simpson sidelines, Bob Matthews returns as the Lady Cats coach. Unlike many of his district counterparts taking over their respective programs this year, Matthews is inheriting a talent-loaded team. David Clark did not leave this program broke, Matthews said. Its very sound. Leading the Lady Cats this season will be junior point guard Chelsey Brown. With Matthews installing a high-paced offense, Brown will be in charge of running the show and making sure the ball is taken care of. We will play 90 feet on an 84-foot court. Well be doing a lot of pressing and a lot of running, Matthews said. I think Chelsey can definitely handle the point. Shes an excellent ballhandler and a very heady player. While many run-and-gun teams utilize smaller players, Franklin-Simpson will be running but with big players. Seniors Amber Evans (6-1) and Ashley Mayes (5-11) will give the Lady Wildcats an impressive post presence. Evans can make things happen under the basket and can also stretch defenses with a nice touch from the perimeter. Junior T.K. Hogan is a player Matthews thinks could be a surprise. After attending numerous basketball camps, Matthews says Hogan is starting to draw the attention of college coaches. Having only played basketball since her freshman year, Matthews says her progress has been tremendous. Her quickness and athletic ability for her size has developed in three years, he said. Todd County Central (11-19)Kevin Radford has walked into a good situation as the first-year coach at Todd County Central. Its not very often a new coach inherits all five starters from a district championship team, but thats exactly what Radford got, and he couldnt be happier. Ive got the numbers up for me, Radford said. One thing thats carried over from last year is the girls have learned to play together. Realistically I think were one of the top four teams in the region. The Lady Rebels leading returner is senior forward Casey Shemmwell, who has played at the varsity level since her freshman year. She can play any position. Shes a pure shooter and she can do other things like rebound and play defense. Shes just a great all-around player, Radford said. Playing the point will be another senior, Sissy Darden. While Radford thinks Darden is a good ballhandler, he believes she has the ability to score more than she has in the past. Shes an excellent ballhandler. She could be an excellent scorer as well, but shes just a little timid. We need for her to work a little more on her penetration, Radford said. Sophomore Brittany Darden will join her older sister in the backcourt. According to Radford, Brittany has the potential to lead the team in scoring this season. Brittany will probably be all state by the time shes a senior. Shes got a knack for scoring, Radford said. Another young player who should make an impact for the Lady Rebels is freshman Jaleesa Glass. At 6-foot-3, Glass has improved every day, according to Radford, and should be a force down on the block. Coming off the bench will be junior Ramsey Grooves and senior Daniele Mimms. With an abundance of quickness, Radford hopes to play a variety of styles. Were definitely not a slow team, Radford said. Offensively we will not have a problem. Im worried about shutting other teams down. Logan County (9-19)Last year Logan County averaged 58 points per game. Since graduating all but one of those point-scoring players who combined for an average of 42 points coach Paul McNeal is not to sure what to expect from his inexperienced team. Were not going to be very good individually. Were relying on everything to be a team to get us through the season, McNeal said. Were so young we just want to improve through the season and peak toward tourney time. Logan County is looking for its defense to be its strength, setting up a fast-paced offense that hopes to get easy looks in transition. We want to push the ball upcourt and try to force turnovers and get easy baskets, McNeal said. The Lady Cougars lone returning starter will be junior guard Casey Cowan, who averaged 8 points last season. Shes worked extremely hard over the offseason to be an impact for this team. Shes focused hard on being a leader on and off the floor, McNeal said. Logan Countys lone senior will be Magen White, who is returning from an injury that kept her out of many practices earlier this year. Junior forward Amy Scarrough will play an important role in the Lady Cougars offense this season. With a nice shooting touch and the ability to create her own shot, McNeal believes she can be a key contributor to the offense. Shes one of those silent girls that will hopefully give us about eight or nine a night, McNeal said. The Lady Cougars inexperience is the most obvious at the point guard position, where freshman Kayla Coursey will start. Russellville (8-17)Unlike other teams in the district this year, Russellville will have a go-to player. And much like the others, they still face inexperience. Leading coach Jim Austins team will be senior Shea Todd. Shes our big girl in the middle. Im hoping she can give me 20 points a game. Our offense evolves around her, Austin said. Shes the nucleus of our ballclub. Russellvilles only other experienced player is senior Latoya Moorman, who, according to Austin, can start anywhere on the court. Shes a utility player, she can play just about anything. Shes not very big, but shes very, very quick, Austin said. Besides Todd, the Lady Panthers are much like the other teams in the district small. If you take away two of my players Ive probably got the shortest team in the state. Were quick, weve got good feet underneath us, Austin said. Some of the quickness Austin speaks of comes from junior Angela Kennedy and sophomore Darshan Dickerson. Kennedy provides a solid perimeter presence who should help Todd out in the carrying the scoring load. This is another girl that could score 20 for us any given night, Austin said. Dickerson has been a member of the varsity team since the eighth grade and will assume the point guard responsibilities this season. One of the returning starters from last season who will not be on the court when the season starts is sophomore Anja Shelton. Shelton is suffering from a sprained ankle, but should return to action around mid-December.