It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . basketball season!

Beaver Area girls basketball has been gearing up for the past month and it’s finally here.

The team is looking promising this season considering sophomores Bridget Mayo and Annsley Baker, and senior Kylie Conley are three returning starters.

Last year the district hired a new head coach, Joe Kirschner, after the previous head coach resigned. Kirschner returns and hopes the team is ready to eclipse last season’s 7-14 performance.

And it’s looking like the Ladycats are bouncing back.

They opened the season with a scrimmage against Sto-Rox at home November 23, then followed with a scrimmage against Waynesburg to get in some game-like practice before their season’s first game that was quickly approaching.

This week would be a busy one for the ladies with four games.

Freedom Area traveled to Beaver Area December 2 for a non-section match-up.

The Ladycats took control right from the start: the Freedom Bulldogs only scored 6 points in the first half—it’s safe to say the Ladycats dominated.

Leading scorers were Baker who tallied 21 points and junior Ava Wright with 15 points.

Officially making the cats 1-0, the score was 56-21.

For the next game the Ladycats were on the road heading across the river to Rochester.

This was an intense game with the ladies facing a 10 point deficit at the half.

However, the Ladycats quickly caught up in the second half and took home the win 57-52.

Top scorers were Baker and Mayo.

For the weekend the team travelled to the Fort Cherry tip off tournament. Their first game was December 6 against Bishop Canvein.

This game was an impressive Bobcat victory where they pulled away with a 62-32 win to advance to the championship game where they would play hosts Fort Cherry.

Once again the top scores were Baker with 19 points and Wright with 18.

In the championship game the next day, the Rangers caught the lead early. The Ladycats were only able to gain the lead twice in the game, once by 2 points and the other lead was by 5.

Time eventually ran out and the Ladycats couldn’t catch up; the final score was 46-42 making them tournament runners-up.

Baker and Wright were named to the All-Tournament team. Baker netted a tournament total of 47 points, and Wright scored 27 total.

This loss broke the team’s winning streak putting their record at 3-1.

A welcome break followed until the Blackhawk Cougars traveled to Beaver Area December 12. This was going to be a tough match-up for the Cats.

Last year the Ladycats lost in a blowout; however, three Blackhawk starters had to get replaced this year which meant the Ladycats could come in clutch.

Determined, Beaver Area hit the court on fire and had a 9-2 run in the first quarter. They kept up the intensity with the former state champions and held a lead all the way to the end of the third quarter.

But Blackhawk caught momentum and took the lead by 3 points going into the last quarter. Their newfound energy led the Cougars to their 59-44 win.

Leading Beaver Area scorers were Baker with 22 points and Wright with 16.

The Ladycats now sit at 3-2 overall and 0-1 in section.

Their next game will be December 19 at Ambridge High School where they look to improve to 4-2.