High school girls basketball in the Butler County area will feature a number of teams looking to keep a good thing going this season.

Knoch will attempt to build on its historic 2021-22 campaign, which saw the Knights win a state playoff game for the first time in program history.

Mars will look to add to its streak of WPIAL playoff appearances, currently at 25-plus years.

North Catholic is out to defend its WPIAL title and hoping for a longer run in the state playoffs.

Individually, stars like Seneca Valley’s Olivia West, Mars’ Ava Black, Union’s Dominika Logue and Butler’s Makenna Maier are gone to graduation, but others are preparing to fill the voids and working to become the next leaders for their respective teams.

Following are previews for the 11 Butler County are girls basketball teams.

A-C Valley

Coach: Mike Meals

The cupboard is far from stocked for the Falcons. Nevertheless, they’re trying to do the most with what they have.

“We only have three returning lettermen and 11 points a game coming back from last year,” Meals said.

The roster is made up of just nine players, which means practices are different than what you’d typically see in a gym.

“We run a lot of work on skills,” Meals said. “We can’t do offense against defense. It does limit what we can do it practice. But, we’re practicing hard for two hours, there’s pretty good attitudes.”

A-C Valley will lean on forward Mackenzie Parks and guard Keira McVay for senior guidance. Sophomore Ava Snyder joins that duo as the other letterman that is back. Freshmen Maddy Dehart, a forward, and Emma Raschiatore, a guard, are likely to be in the starting lineup.

“As long as we’re better from practice to practice, game to game, better at the end of the year than we are at the beginning of the year, then we’ve done our job,” Meals said. “If we can get a couple early wins and get some confidence, who knows what might happen?”

Butler

Coach: Mark Maier

The Golden Tornado have met up with a difficult opponent already this season — the injury bug.

Would-be starter Maisy Gibson, a senior forward, is out with a torn ACL, with hopes she’ll be back before the end of the season. Junior forward Jessica Chwalik has an injured ankle and is out until late December.

Other players have been in and out of practice with assorted ailments.

“We’ve got some ability here and some good, young kids coming up,” Maier said. “The sophomores on our team were part of the group that went undefeated in seventh and eighth grade. Some of those girls will contribute right away.”

With Makenna Maier now playing at Saint Vincent College and Aubree Tack at Chatham, senior guard-forward Justine Forbes is Butler’s lone returning starter. She averaged 10.5 points and four rebounds per game a year ago, sinking 31 treys.

Hannah Aldridge, a senior, will be the point guard with sophomore Sydney Patterson seeing time at that position as well. Sophomore guard-forward Amelia McMichael, senior forward Kelli Kovalick and sophomore guard-forward Madison McGarrah will challenge for starting time as well.

“We really don’t have any post players ... we’ve got a lot of ‘tweeners size-wise,” Maier said.

Senior guards Hope Look and Torie Stevenson will see action off the bench for the Tornado, as will sophomore forward Avery Maier. Butler is coming off a 13-10 season.

“Our section is a little different this year,” Coach Maier said. “Three teams dropped to 5A and Hempfield slid in. We’ve got six teams in the section and the top four make the playoffs.

“Everything starts with defense for us. We like to shoot the three, but we have to defend first.”

Freeport

Coach: Fred Soilis

Having made the WPIAL Class 4A postseason last go-round, the Yellowjackets will look for a team effort to do the same this year.

“We just need balanced scoring,” Fred said. “We need good team offense and good team defense ... I think we have multiple scorers and I think we need contributions by everybody.”

Four starters are back from a season ago. Senior guards Ava Soilis and Melaina DeZort and junior forward Morgan Croney will be counted on to provide points. Senior Natalie Volek and junior Brooke Kmetz are other names to watch out for.

Much like a good amount of teams at the high school level, Freeport didn’t have an abundance of time to prepare for the season. Coach Soilis has liked what he’s seen from the crew, though.

“I think they’re stepping up and increasing their aggressiveness,” he said.

It’s a welcome sign ahead of the campaign. Now, they’ve just got to coalesce.

“I’m hoping that the more they play together, the more they’ll come together as a group,” Coach Soilis said. “We’re optimistic that we should have a good season.”

Karns City

Coach: Steve Andreassi

The good news is the Gremlins finished 14-9 last season and reached the District 9 semifinals. The bad news is no starters are back.

Emma Johns and Brooke Manuel are now playing at Butler County Community College. Andreassi said he has eight players in the mix for ample playing time and five of them are sophomores.

“This has been a fun group to be around,” the coach said. “They’re playing well together and they enjoy the game.”

Seniors Emma Dailey and Jordan Macurak are likely starters at forward and guard, respectively. The Gremlins’ lone junior, 5-foot-10 forward Hannah Buchanan, is in the mix as well.

“Hannah played for Union her freshman year, then didn’t play basketball last year,” Andreassi said. “Her family moved into our district and she joined our team. I’m confident she’ll help us.”

Also contending for starting positions are sophomores Chloe Fritch, Brooklynn Taylor, Savanna Prescott, Shae Pistorius and Taylour King.

“Chloe and Brooklynn can shoot the 3’s,” Andreassi said. “As always, we will rely on our defense. That’s how we play. Our goals are to try to win the section, get at least second place so we an play in the KSAC tournament and get as high a seed as we can in District 9.”

Knoch

Coach: Chris Andreassi

The Knights put up a lot of program “firsts” last season, winning a section championship, reaching the WPIAL Class 4A title game and getting a state tournament win.

Three starters return from that 22-4 team, including senior point guard Nina Shaw, the Butler Eagle Co-Player of the Year from a year ago. Teammate and co-winner Madilyn Boyer is now playing at Penn State Behrend. Guards Hattie McGraw and Naturelle Ewing are other returning starters.

Karlee Buterbaugh, who started last year as a freshman forward, is sidelined with a torn ACL. She may return late in the season.

“We’re going to have to make up for Madilyn’s scoring this season,” Andreassi said. “But we’ve got some outside shooters. Hattie and Naturelle can put it up, so can CeCe Kosecki.

“Our goal is to make another run. These girls are capable of doing that.”

Shaw averaged 13 points, five rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game for the Knights in 2021-22. She recently committed to California (Pa.) University.

“Nina is our point guard and our leader. She’s being more vocal this year. She recognizes what we need to do offensively and defensively and she’ll help the other girls that way,” Andreassi said.

Kosecki, a guard, and senior guard-forward Megan Vasas round out the starting five. Vasas missed last season with a torn ACL.

Top players off the bench include forwards Jess Burgard and Adah Fuller, guards Paige Rodgers and Lauren Bowser.

Mars

Coach: Dana Petruska

Replacing a pair of six-foot players is no small task, but Petruska is anxious to see what her returning players can do.

Three returning starting guards — seniors Olivia Donnelly and Alexa McDole and sophomore Vita Vargo — will spearhead the Planets’ efforts this season. Last year, the trio combined to score 30 points per game.

With forwards Ava Black and Kaitlyn Pelaia lost to graduation from last year’s 17-6 squad, Mars could become more of a guard-fueled team. As the team’s point guard, Vargo would be at the center of that transition.

“She is very versatile, can shoot the ball well,” said Petruska of Vargo. “It had been a few years since we had a true point guard here and she did not act or look like a freshman last year. She did a tremendous job.

“Olivia has started since her freshman year and Alexa started some games as a sophomore. That’s a lot of experience and it should carry us somewhere.

“How our seniors react without Ava and Kaitlyn on the court will be key for us.”

Helping to fill the void in the frontcourt will be Lauren Atwell, a 6-2 senior forward.

“We also have an athletic freshman class coming in,” Petruska said. “I see a lot of potential with them.”

Moniteau

Coach: Dee Arblaster

Four starters return for the Warriors, who finished 11-11 a year ago. The top returnee is junior point guard Catherine Kelly, who averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds last year.

“She should be our best player,” Arblaster said. “I’m anticipating her being our leading scorer again.”

Other returning starters are junior guard Abbey Jewart, junior center Davina Pry and junior forward Kendall Sankey. Pry averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds last season. The fifth starter is expected to be junior guard Allie Pry.

“We’re going to have a balanced attack,” Arblaster said. “The seniors on this team have been playing for me for four years now. There is plenty of experience there.

“What we’re looking for is more consistency. That was our bugaboo last year.”

Top players off the bench include senior center Autumn Stewart, junior forward Cheyenne Curl and sophomore forward Sophia Fleeger.

“Our goal every year is to get to the District 9 playoffs and go from there,” Arblaster said. “I see Redbank Valley and Karns City as the toughest competition on our schedule. We need to play hard every night.”

North Catholic

Coach: Molly Rottmann

In her team's attempt to repeat as district champion, Rottmann offered this outlook as the season looms: "We're going to be a good team. If we're healthy, we're going to be really, really good."

North finished 22-6 last year, winning the WPIAL Class 3A championship and reaching the state semifinals.

The Trojanettes will have to wait a while to get their full complement of players together on the court. Junior swing player Ava Walker and sophomore guard Sarah Loughry are returning from torn ACLs and senior point guard Dacia Lewandowski has been in and out of practice with a nagging injury.

Rottmann is hopeful Walker and Loughrey will both be playing within a few weeks.

"Both have a really high basketball IQ and are fierce competitors," she said. "Ava gives us versatility with her inside/outside game and Sarah is one of our best defenders and can spell Dacia at the point."

Lewandowski and current junior guard Alayna Rocco averaged 15.9 and 17.9 points, respectively, while both pulling down over five rebounds per game last season.

Also in North's starting lineup will be senior guards Tori Drevna and Anna Waskiewicz, who combined for over 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game as juniors.

"We would like to run, but if we're not healthy, we will have to play more of a halfcourt game," said Rottmann.

Seneca Valley

Coach: Dorothea Epps

It will be a transition season for the Raiders, who graduated 1,000-point scorer Olivia West and point guard Jess Bickart.

Chloe Leonard, a senior swing player, will not play due to a knee injury suffered during soccer season.

Junior forward Emerson Peffer is the lone full-time starter back, so a lot of players will have to elevate their game if the Raiders are to reach the WPIAL playoffs for a 10th straight season.

While a number of players will be asked to run the point, freshman Natalie Hambly has stood out.

“She’s skilled and I love her enthusiasm,” Epps said. “Even though she is young, she has shown leadership, which you need at that position.”

Junior Brionna Brown and sophomore Gracie Cato are also able to lead the team up the floor, but are competing for a starting spot regardless. Senior guard Anna Felitsky and junior forward Allison Sevin are in the mix of possible starters as well.

“I’m not sure how deep our bench will be,” said Epps. “We’re a young team and need to figure out if they can handle the pressure that comes with playing in our section. Adapting to that level of play is difficult.”

Slippery Rock

Coach: Steph Croll

Not all that long ago, first-year Rockets coach Steph Croll was playing for Slippery Rock High School, helping coach youth camps for the girls she’s now in charge of.

With all five starters gone from last year’s state playoff squad, she’s tasked with finding the right formula.

“There’s a lot of girls that’ll be stepping up to the plate and trying to fight for those positions,” Croll said. “We don’t have a lot of experience ... They all played JV together, so we have that chemistry together, but just not at that varsity level yet.”

Guard Julia Coffaro is one of only three seniors — the others being forwards Hannah Holfman and Danielle Zuschlag — and is the veteran of the bunch, as she saw a significant amount of time on the floor in 2021.

“She definitely has that leadership role,” Croll said of Coffaro. “Everyone kind of looks up to her and tries to follow what she does. As long as we can keep her steady and doing well, then everyone else will follow in her tracks.”

Competitive practices have helped foster growth

“I think that our starting five could change week-to-week and game-to-game, depending on who we’re playing and the style of play that we want from everyone,” Croll said. “I’m going to do my best to get as many people playing time as possible.”

Union

Coach: Josh Meeker

To lead them moving forward, the Damsels have turned to a face from their past.

Meeker, who previously guided the team for 10 seasons, is back on the bench after replacing Ally Kepple. He led Union to the state quarterfinals in 2005 and the semifinals in 2006.

Meeker inherits a team that graduated several players last spring from a 15-9 squad, including Dominika Logue, a player with size adept at handling the ball. She averaged 13.4 points, six rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Also gone is Keira Croyle, who was good for 12.2 points per contest.

"We can't replace them completely, but we have a bunch of girls ready to move forward," said Meeker. "I know a lot of them from when I coached the junior high team."

Senior guard Hailey Theuret will be starting for the third straight year. She will be at point guard, where she played much of last season, a fact that, according to Meeker, "stabilizes us. She didn't have to score a lot last year, but has the ability to do so."

The Damsels also feature two forwards — Katie Gezik and Cheyenne Dowling — who will be counted on for solid play at both ends of the floor.

"It's time for other girls to step up and that is brand new to them," said Meeker. "We have to be patient with them and they have to be patient with each other."