Steamboat Pilot & Today

Oak Creek — The Soroco High School girls basketball team had anticipated entering the season, which starts with a 4:30 p.m. home game Thursday against North Park, with one of the most experienced lineups in the Western Slope League: five proven and experienced players returning from last season’s above-.500 squad.

Offseason shuffling changed some of that, but when the team tips off Thursday night, the Rams are hoping they’ll still have the horsepower to compete in the rough and tough Western Slope.

“We ended up losing five of our top eight players from last year, even though we only had three seniors,” coach David Bruner said.

Soroco will be without two players it was expecting — one lost to a family move and another to focus on a different sport — but it does return three of its most dynamic scorers from a year ago, seniors who have played major roles for their entire careers.

Madison George and sisters Lindsay and Shelby Miles will lead the way. George was the team’s top scorer a year ago, pouring in nine points per game for the 11-6 squad.

Lindsay and Shelby Miles, meanwhile, have been consistent scorers throughout their careers and have ranked among the team’s top rebounders.

“We’re not as experienced as we thought we would be, but those girls have played a lot for us,” Bruner said.

Bruner said that while some of the faces will change, the team’s goals and its style likely will remain the same. None of the team’s returning starters are short, but the team also lacks real size.

In turn, the Rams expect to again push the pace and put up as many shots as possible, hoping to continue to average 50 points.

“We want to get up and down the floor, but we have to take care of the ball a little better than we have,” Bruner said. “The three seniors, hopefully they’re ready to clean that up a little bit. They’ve been able to do that in practices.”

Last season’s record was the best the Rams have put together recently, and they’re hoping to do that again. They’ll open the season against North Park for the second straight year and will be hoping for the same kind of start. Soroco swept the series last season, winning by an average of 23 points.

— To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253 or email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com