The Lady Bobcats’ preseason efforts paid off for the beginning of their regular basketball season.

The Bobcats went undefeated two weekends ago when their regular season began at Charleroi’s tipoff tournament, and they also beat Vincentian Academy last Monday. They also won against Neshannock by one point last Thursday making the ‘Cats 4-0—even with a relatively young team.

With only two returning starters, Coach Huston said, “Inexperience is always a challenge, but we have a young, hungry group ready to learn how to win.”

Easing the challenge for the young Cats, the team has also moved down a section from last year, going from quad-A to triple-A. The change means that their biggest rivals this season will be Neshannock and Mohawk.

Coach Huston has been coaching Beaver Area Girls High School Basketball for 10 years. He said that this team is special because, “I love the fact that this group has a sense of togetherness, mainly because everyone is about the same age. But it means it’s extremely tight knit.”

The season’s five starters are senior Qhamille Monteiro, sophomores Emma Pavelek, Anna Blum, and Maddi Weiland, and freshman Payton List.

The Bobcats has also gained two new assistant coaches: coach Heidi Burtte and Kevin Krzecowski. Coach Krzecowski has had 14 years of experience coaching at Burgetstown and decided to coach at Beaver since his daughter attends Beaver and he missed coaching. This is Coach Heidi’s first year coaching and says that she is excited for the season but doesn’t know what to expect.

The squad includes eight returning players and eight new players, making 16 Lady Bobcats total.

Because the Bobcats are an inexperienced team of underclassmen with the exception of Monteiro, Huston expects other players to step up.

“I think the captains, Qhamille, Maddi, and Emma have to, and certainly will, step up,” he said.

The team’s senior, Monteiro, is confident in her team and has high expectations.

“With such a young team everyone expects us to be the ‘underdog,’ and with all the talent we have, we can be the best in triple-A and definitely win our section,” she expressed.

Pavelek, a returning starter and point guard for the Bobcats, said, “Obviously we want to have a winning record, but I think it’s more important for us to grow as a team and learn to be leaders.”

The Lady Bobcats face Elwood City tonight at 7:30 p.m. in their first home game. See you there!