This is one in a series of previews of area high school basketball programs starting play this monthBUFFALO TWP — Some key starters are gone. The defensive philosophy remains.Freeport girls basketball coach Fred Soilis believes the latter will carry his team through this season.“I always stress defense,” the sixth-year coach said. “As long as we play good team basketball, rebound as a group, play together, we'll be fine.“If we play as a bunch of individuals? That's not gonna work.”The Yellowjackets graduated three quality starters from last year's team that finished 17-8 overall and tied for second in the section with an 11-3 mark.Sidney Shemanski averaged 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.5 assists as the team's most versatile player. Samantha Clark averaged 8.8 points per game and sank 32 treys while Madeline Clark averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.Returning starters are junior guard Melaina DeZort (8.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg.) and senior guard Grace Soilis.“We don't have a true point guard,” Coach Soilis said. “A lot of our players can handle the ball.”Ava Soilis, a sophomore guard, will be another starter this season. Junior forward Leah Hartman, sophomore guards Natalie Volek and Marlee Sholtes are also contending for starting spots.“We have a number of freshmen in the mix as well,” Soilis said. “We have a lot of athleticism on this team, even with the people we lost. My biggest concern is our lack of experience at the varsity level.“Even if the WPIAL wasn't having an open tournament this year, I'm confident we'd be a playoff team.”Freeport opens the season Monday, hosting Valley.

The Yellowjackets graduated two starters — guard Aiden Skradski and forward Garret Schaffhauser — from last year's 3-18 team. A third starter, Matt Aulicino (13.1 ppg., 7.6 rpg.) is only a junior, but transferred to Central Catholic.“We have a lot of inexperience and these kids haven't practiced much together,” third-year coach Wayne Greiser said. “We've been practicing in pods of eight and nine players, so we haven't had any 5-on-5 drills.“You can install some stuff, but we haven't been able to run it.”Freeport's two returning starters — guards Vinnie Clark (9.0 ppg.) and Christian Waronsky — are switching roles this year. Clark will be the point guard.Looking for time at forward are Cole Charlton, Jason Kijowski, Conner Holloway, Ben Lane and Parker Lucas.“I like the flexibility with our roster,” Greiser said. “Most of our guys can handle the ball and we'll go 10-deep. We should be able to handle pressure.”The Yellowjackets have two seniors, four juniors and 11 sophomores among their 17 players.“Not one player will be back in the same role as last season,” Greiser said. “But we have a lot of soccer and football players on this team. They're used to playing in big moments under the lights.”Freeport's school district has a mask policy in place for athletics this winter. The Yellowjackets will have to wear masks while they play games at home and away.“If we're playing a team whose district does not require wearing masks, that could be a disadvantage for us,” Geisler admitted. “We'll have to see how that plays out.”

<b>Girls</b><i>Senior:</i> 5-6 guard Grace Soilis<i>Juniors:</i> G Melaina DeZort, 5-9 F Leah Hartman<i>Sophomores:</i> 5-6 G Natalie Volek, 5-8 F Reese Skiba, 5-6 G Ava Soilis, 5-7 F Arianna Coppola, 5-6 G Marlee Sholtes<i>Freshmen:</i> 5-3 G Abby DeJidas, 5-3 G Jaden Gaillot, 5-4 G MacKenzie Kirsch, 5-4 G Saige Smith, 5-8 G Morgan Croney, 5-5 G Grace Beach, 5-5 G Launa Skiles, 5-5 Giacinta Pugliese, 5-10 F Josie Russo, 5-10 F Brooke Kmetz<b>Boys</b><i>Seniors:</i> 6-1 F Colin Gaspersic, 6-0 G Christian Waronsky<i>Juniors:</i> 5-11PG Vinnie Clark, 6-0 F Conner Holloway, 6-3 F Cole Charlton, 6-1 F Jason Kijowski<i>Sophomores:</i> 6-1G Dean Furer, 5-10 G-F Ben Lane, 5-9 G Gavin Croney, 5-8 G Brady Stivenson, 5-9 G Zach Clark, 6-0 F Garrett Risch, 6-1 G-F Dylan Stonebraker, 6-0 F Jackson Reiser, 6-2 F Isaac Wetzel, 6-2 F Parker Lucas, 6-4 C Payton Westendorf