GATLINBURG — The Gatlinburg-Pittman Lady Highlanders hoops squad wants to get offensive this season.

After suffering through a 10-16 campaign a year ago — struggling to find any offensive compliment to go along with standout guard Caroline Conner — G-P now believes it has the weapons to put some points on the board and get back to the explosive style of play the Blue-and-Gold had a couple of seasons ago that earned them a winning season and a trip to the regional tournament semi-finals.

“Last year, we struggled offensively, but now we’re almost like those teams we had two or three years ago,” said G-P coach Mike Rader. “You know, that team that can just chase your tail off all over the floor, make turnovers happen and then go in and score off of that.

“But our goal right now is to just get better in the half court, and that’s what we’re trying to do now.”

The Lady Highlanders graduated three seniors and all of their size from last season. Abi Edwards, Jaclyn Hardin and Katie Tierney are the departures, and although they will be missed, G-P has some high hopes for some of its young, emerging talent.

“We’re going to be starting an average size of 5-foot-6, 5-foot-7 at post this season,” said Rader. “We lost all of our size, so we’re just going to have to scrap for everything.

“But if we get some of these juniors — which last year they looked good on JV — and if they are ready for varsity action, then we’ll have some scorers. A lot of these juniors can shoot three-pointers.”

Beka Owens, Lacee Tinker, Macy Shults, Stephanie Taylor and Makenna Lewis are four of the juniors the Lady Highlanders will be looking to for some points, but sophomore Sami John and freshman Karsen Sims may help provide some of the offense as well.

“We should have some three-point shooting this year, and last year we didn’t have that,” said Rader. “Last year, we had some size but not the shooting.

“But that’s what high school is all about, everything changes from year-to-year.”

Some of the younger players are getting even more playing time this preseason because Conner — the returning leading scorer for the Blue and Gold — got banged up even before this preseason.

“Caroline just can’t seem to stay healthy right now,” said Rader. “She’s just banged up with ankles (from AAU ball) and an arm (from this past weekend).

“Caroline is a lot of our offense, and we’re having to work a lot without her right now. When Caroline plays, she adds a lot to our offense, but she’s just really physically banged up right now.

“We don’t really start playing (the regular season) until Nov. 30, so we’ll be ready. If Caroline is ready by then, great. If not, these other girls will be ready because they’re here everyday working, and that gives a lot of chances for some of our younger players to get some experience right now.”

Time to team build, due to an unusually late start to the regular season this year, is one benefit for the Lady Highlanders, who have been practicing since the final week of October.

“This is the latest start I’ve ever had,” said Rader. “We usually at least have a game by Thanksgiving. But TSSAA dropped two games off the schedule, and the way it worked out, we’re not playing until the 30th.”

The G-P boys’s team starts its regular season on Tuesday next week, but that’s because the boys are competing in the TSSAA Hall of Fame games.

“But I just don’t believe in doing that,” said Rader. “All we’re doing if we play in that is giving TSSAA some more money. I’d just as soon scrimmage and wait for the regular season to start.”

G-P will go about 12 deep on the varsity squad, and Rader intends to make sure most of the girls leave games tired.

“I’m going to run them in and run them out,” said the coach. “What’s really neat, when everybody’s healthy, I’ve got 10 to 12 kids that I don’t mind a bit putting into the games.”

If one returning senior helped Conner put some points on the board for G-P last season, it was Leah Bryan ... a scrappy 5-foot-7 forward with a relentless motor on the court. Bryan was the second-leading scorer for the team last year.

“So, I know I’ve got at least two kids that can score,” said Rader.

The only other senior on the G-P roster is 5-foot-9 spark plug Alisha Johnson.

“Alisha is the wildcard,” said Rader. “She’s plays every sport we’ve got up here, and she’s just an athlete.

“When she plays under control, she’s scary good. She’s that kid who can guard a 6-foot post because she’s so quick.”

Of all the juniors on the squad, Owens and Taylor may play the biggest roles in a Lady Highlander resurgence this season.

“Beka could be one of the keys to our success,” said Rader. “Beka has played well in the past, but she’s one that I’m really needing to step up to the next level.

“She works hard and she’s part of the hardest-working group of kids we’ve had. Beka and Stephanie Taylor play as good of defense as you’ll see in a game. They run all over the court and they never let up. Now, if those two can start scoring, we’ll put some points on the board. Those are two girls I would really like to see start putting the ball in the hole, because they’re both great defensive players.”

Sims was a dominant force in the county at the middle school level the past couple of seasons, and she is expected to play a key role and a lot of minutes for varsity this year.

“You’ve got to mention Karsen right now,” said Rader. “She’s going to be a fun kid to watch over the next four years. If Karsen doesn’t start this year, she’ll play a whole lot.”

The Lady Highlanders do have some other talented freshman with size on the come at the post position, but G-P will not bank on the group for a major impact this season.

“You don’t usually expect them to come in and make a huge impact their first year, especially at the post position,” said Rader. “But if some of those girls can come in and give us a few minutes by the end of the year, that will make a difference for us by giving us some actual size inside.”

G-P moves into a new district this season, playing the likes of Fulton, Austin-East, Carter, Pigeon Forge, Gibbs and Union County. Although it will be much tougher for the Lady Highlanders to compete, it’s an opportunity the ladies are relishing.

“Realistically, we can be as good as anybody we play in the district,” said Rader. “If you can win in our district, you can be competitive anywhere. I like the challenge of our district.

“If we can run and compete with these Knoxville teams, we can run and compete with anybody. It helps our program. It’s not about wins and losses (during the regular season). It’s about getting as deep into the (postseason) tournaments as you can go.

“Everybody has got roles on this team, and if a lot of our young girls by the end of the year have stepped up their game, I think we’ll be alright. I think we’ll be fun to watch.

“Defensively, I know we’ll get the job done. It’s just a matter of these kids stepping up and making the shots they have to make.”