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The Pike County Lady Bulldogs are heading into the 2022-2023 basketball season, beginning this Thursday with tournament action in Luverne.

The Lady Dawgs are coming off a 2021-2022 season in which Pike County won its third consecutive Area Championship and made it to the Southeast Regional Semifinals. PCHS coach Melissa White also wrapped up the season by earning a spot as the AHSAA North-South All-Star coach for the South.

“Practices have been going well,” White said. “We’ve had good practices and are just trying to get everybody on the same page. We have a lot of kids that are still involved in other events – band and cheerleading and things like that – so, it’s just about getting everyone in one spot. That’s one of our biggest concerns right now.”

Pike County returns a large group of seniors that are expected to lead the Lady Bulldogs into the season.

“We are senior heavy, so we’re looking for those seniors to bring that leadership to the table,” White said. “Urriya Berry and Taniya Green are post players that really help us with rebounds and are some of our leading scorers.

“Amity White is our ball handler. She and Auriel Moultry are our guards and we will rely heavily on them. Carlisha Cotton is another senior leader. We’re looking for those seniors to show the way to the younger girls and help guide them.

Hard work is one of the keys that White believes will help the Lady Dawgs make a deeper run into the playoffs this season.

“We have some unfinished business, so we want to build on what we did last year,” White said. “We’re ‘All In’ this year, that’s our motto. We want everyone all in and committed to the program and to give 110 percent.

“If we work hard every single day and come to practice and get better each day then we feel like we set ourselves up to be in a good position when it comes to area play and when it comes time for sub-regionals. If we do that we’ll put ourselves in position to accomplish those goals.”

Pike County will be busy in the early season. The Lady Dawgs head to Luverne on Thursday to compete in the Luverne Classic against Goshen in the opening round at 4 p.m. Other teams scheduled to compete in the tournament include Luverne, Opp, Enterprise, Greenville, Georgiana and Highland Home. On Nov. 21, Pike County travels to Carroll to play in the Karen Kelly Invitational, as well. The Lady Dawgs face Geneva in the opening round at 2:30 p.m.

“Early in the season, we have to concentrate on our defense and really just getting into game shape,” White said. “That’s one of the main things for us that we definitely have to improve on. We also have to find that cohesiveness and come together as a team to be one unit more than anything. That’s also one of our main concerns.”