2009-10 Delta Girls Basketball Preview

The Delta Bobcats return four of the five starters from last year's team that bowed out to Bakersfield in the Class 1 state quarterfinal round.

Their lone loss, all-state player Jodi Menz, is a big hole to fill for Delta coach Mark Verticchio, but he is confident players will step up to fill the void.

"Nobody is going to step in and replace her," Verticchio said of Menz, who is playing at Three Rivers Community College. "But with time we could be as good, or better, than we were last year. I think we might struggle a bit early with the loss of Jodi and playing some of the younger kids. The kids coming back, except Taylor [Smith], haven't been asked to score a lot. Now they're going to have to and it might take a little while."

With the returning core back for the Bobcats, they will feautre plenty of experience to make another deep postseason run.

"Last year we won our conference, we went to state quarterfinals, so our expectations are high," Verticchio said.

The veterans aren't the only ones who are be asked to contribute.

"We've got some good kids coming back, but we've got a couple freshmen and sophomores that are really going to step in and help us a lot," Verticchio said. "Several of them could step right in and play varsity."

But he knows it will be a learning experience for his youngsters. The seniors are going to have to provide more than just scoring this season.

"It's really important," Verticchio said of the experience. "I've talked to the seniors about that over and over. This year's seniors really have to step up and welcome the younger kids and realize everybody has a role. The seniors are going to have to score more but also help the younger kids and teach them about varsity basketball."

The key for the Bobcats lies in their defense. Verticchio admits he wants to press non-stop all season, forcing other teams to play their style of game.

"We're going to press," Ver ticchio said. "That's key for us. We're not very big, we're not tiny, but we want to press and turn it into a running game. I don't think we can afford to get in a half-court game, even though we can shoot the ball. We're going to run, I hope, every minute of every game."

Verticchio said that if the Bobcats buy into the defense, they will be successful.

"They have to adapt to the press, learn the press and believe in the press," he said. "When you press a lot like we're going to be, you're going to get beat. You have to realize that's OK. I always tell them it's OK if they break our press. There is going to be times when it breaks down, but you count your pluses and minuses and hopefully the pluses come out more."

---

Coach: Mark Verticchio, second season

Last season's record: 21-6

Returning starters: Taylor Smith, sr.; Courtney Burton, sr.; Samantha Bartels, jr.; Kendra Burnett, sr.

Other key players: Katie Brucker, sr.; Ashley Glaus, sr.

Remainder of roster: Lyndse Hamby, so.; Machela Gibbons, fr.; Macey Parks, so.; Rachel Bartels, jr.; Toru Burton, so.; Rachelle Meier, fr.