By TONY BELLISSIMO
"Expectations are higher and we're looking to live up to them," said Lady Eagles coach Denise Schatz, whose squad is seeded third in the 11-team conference. "We've been to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and our goal is to get back there and go further than we did last year."
Central won 12 games in 1999-2000 and has a great chance to surpass that number with a more experienced and deeper roster.
All-County senior center Stacey Schultz averaged 16 points per game as a junior and provides the Lady Eagles with a strong inside presence. Senior forward Stephanie Filiault can also put the ball in the basket consistently. At guard, Central is dangerous with All-Conference junior Kerri Kelty, All-Division sophomore Lisa Longo and sophomore Danielle Castelli.
"I'm confident in our ability to score," Schatz said. "We have good chemistry. All the girls have another season under their belts and that's another plus."
A solid corps of reserves is to be led by Kerry Sass, Meghan Mannion and Kallie Darragh.
The Lady Eagles are participating in the Herricks (Dec. 14-15) and Baldwin (Dec. 27-28) tournaments. They open conference play on Dec. 19 at Hewlett.
Valley Stream South has a new coach but it's a familiar face. Deidre Gordon, who coached in the district in the 1990s, has returned to guide some of the players she had once before.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity," Gordon said after the Lady Falcons gave her win No. 1, 41-29 over Long Beach last week. "We have nine seniors, six of which I coached when they were younger. It's a great group of kids and I think we have a good shot to win our conference."
South is seeded second in Conference IV and is certain to challenge for the top spot with four senior honorees leading the charge: All-County guard Eileen Flood, All-Conference center Jen Cully, All-Conference forward Stephanie Guarneri and All-Division point guard Kristen O'Leary.
Cully and Flood both averaged around 15 points per game last season. Cully led South in the opener with 11 points while Guarneri added 10.
The supporting cast includes seniors Nicole Corea, Lauren Zdunczyk and Lauren Kelly, as well as freshman Jenna Hutchinson.
"It's going to take a little time for them to get used to the new system," said Gordon, who plans to implement many set plays and limit the Lady Falcons' freelancing. "I think we'll be fairly set with our rotation of players and running the system by the time the conference schedule opens.
The Lady Falcons host Roslyn in the Conference IV opener on Dec. 19. "Our main goal is to make the playoffs," Gordon said.
Things are looking up for Valley Stream North, which will rely heavily on two youngsters and four seniors to better last season's win total of three.
"The girls have another year of maturity to work with and I think we'll be able to limit our mistakes and hold our own in every game," coach Anthony Turco said. "There's a lot of uncertainty within the league and we should be competitive."
The Lady Spartans' top two scorers from a year ago will be here to stay for quite some time. Sophomore shooting guard Stacey Krasnoff and eighth-grade point guard Darla Boccio give North a tremendous 1-2 punch in the backcourt. "We'll look for them to raise the level of everyone else's games," Turco said.
Senior center Diana Schutz and senior forward Jen McMannus are offensive threats, while seniors Sarah Tauber and Vicky Ferrario are good athletes who coach Turco is expecting will contribute at both ends of the floor.
"I'm optimistic," Turco said. "We're facing a lot of the same teams we saw last season, so as a coach and as players we know more about what we're up against."
The Lady Spartans host Wheatley in the conference opener for both teams on Dec. 19.
