Lady Tigers ready for season debut against Timberline

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers started basketball practice this past Monday as they prepare for their season opener at home on Nov. 9 against Timberline.

The Lady Tigers will be trying to improve upon last year's 8-15 season, which saw them lose the third-place game at district to Bishop Kelly.

Mountain Home girls basketball coach Brent Keener lost six players to graduation, but, with the girls coming back and those coming up from the junior varsity squad, he's feeling good about this season.

"We've got some things to do where we need to be able to mesh," he said, "but there's no reason athletically, skill-wise, that we can't compete and be in the middle of the pack, and maybe even the upper echelon of the pack, but it's going to be tough."

Three-time defending state champion Middleton is the favorite to win the conference again this year. They did not lose much to graduation, and have May Ah You back after missing all of last year with a knee injury.

"Middleton will be absolutely loaded this year," said Coach Keener. "They're pretty scary."

Coach Keener hopes his Lady Tigers can come together and have a good year.

"We've got quite a few new girls that have moved up from the junior varsity, and other girls that played varsity last year, but didn't have as big a roll," the coach said. "We're not as big this year, so we're really going to have to rebound. We'll get after it defensively, as defense will be a huge emphasis, and we'll have to get out and run the basketball, too, in order to score."

The Lady Tigers open at home at Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium on Nov. 9 against Timberline of Boise.