It might be difficult for some high school basketball coaches to find many positives in a season in which their team wins just five games.

Not in Todd Schoeffel's case.

The Seneca Valley girls coach had plenty of bright spots this season; when the Raiders went 5-19 overall and finished tied with North Hills for last place in Section 3-AAAA.

The best part about those bright spots is that most will be returning for the 2004-05 campaign.

Leading the group of young players on the court were sophomores Ashley Turici and Tina Mangola.

"Both played a lot this season as sophomores," said Schoeffel. "That doesn't always happen, and the experience they got is invaluable."

Turici, a 5-foot-11 center, led the team in scoring (8.3 ppg.), rebounding (7.1) and in steals (37).

"Ashley's got great hands and moves her feet well," said Schoeffel. "She knows where the basket is and that's important."

"Her play did surprise me a bit," added Schoeffel. "But then, I wasn't sure what to expect from a lot of the girls because I spent a season away from the team."

There were many nights in which Turici led the junior varsity team in scoring, then turned around 20 minutes later and did the same for the varsity squad.

"I've been playing with (Ashley) since the seventh grade," said Mangola. "She's knows where to put herself so you can get her the ball. And if someone misses a shot, you know she'll be there for the put-back."

Mangola, a 5-5 guard, was the Raiders' top 3-point shooter at 27.3 percent (27 of 99). She was second on the team in both points (5.3 ppg.) and with 30 assists.

"Tina's a fearless player," said Schoeffel. "Some girls are afraid to go out there and shoot the ball. But sometimes a team needs a player who comes into a game and just fires away."

Also looking to build on promising performances this year are sophomore Chelsey Pavlick and freshman Amanda Johnson.

Pavlick, a 5-9 forward, led the team in blocked shots with 32, tallied 34 steals and averaged nearly five points per game.

A 6-1 forward, Johnson saw more playing time than most freshmen and responded with 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.

"Defensively, I think we could be imposing with our size inside," said Schoeffel.

Junior forwards Laura Ness and Brooke Barclay both saw limited action this year, but will figure into the mix next season.

One of the key ingredients to any successful team is leadership. Mangola said the seniors set a fine example.

"The seniors were definitely leaders," Mangola said of Katie Cummings, Courtney DeFalco, Julie Wills and Sarah Dobson. "They taught us how to respond to different situations on the court."

"They kept positive," Schoeffel said of his senior players. "That was the biggest thing, because there were a lot of times this year when they could have gotten frustrated."

Adding to Schoeffel's optimism is the return of two guards - junior Val Johnson and freshman Kelsey Spencer, who missed the season because of injury.

"With their outside play, that could open the middle for our girls inside," he said.