GATLINBURG — After a frustrating eight-win season a year ago, the Gatlinburg-Pittman Lady Highlanders basketball team is looking for a fresh start.

With first-year coach Katie Parton at the helm, the Lady Blue and Gold are getting just that ... starting over from scratch with a new philosophy both offensively and defensively.

“The girls have been willing and excited to learn, and I’m feeling really good about their effort,” said Parton, who watched the Lady Highlanders go 10-5 in recent summer camp action. “It’s all brand new to the girls, a learning experience for us all.

“In the past, we’ve played a lot of zone trapping. We’re going to try to play more man this year to cause turnovers. We tried a lot of new things defensively and offensively at summer camp.

“The girls are ready to try new things this year, because after a tough year last year, all these girls want to do now is win. They’re willing to try anything, and they’re definitely working hard and are having good mind frames about it.”

The Lady Highlanders did lose Leah Bryan and Alisha Johnson to graduation, but G-P returns five rising seniors to this year’s squad, including Beka Owens, Stephanie Taylor, Morgan Dodgen, Macy Shults and Lacee Tinker. Throw in rising junior three-point sniper Sami John, promising rising sophomores Karsen Sims and Sasha Moore, and rising freshmen Micki Werner and Courtney Malone, and the Blue-and-Gold ladies feel they can be a force to be reckoned with in District 3-AA.

“It’s too early to tell who is going to be the starting five,” said Parton. “But we’ve got a good eight or nine (girls returning that will be the team’s nucleus).”

G-P realizes that most everyone expects Pigeon Forge, Fulton and Austin-East to battle for the top spot in the district, but the Blue and Gold ladies expect to make things difficult for the favorites.

“I feel that we should be able to compete with anybody in our district,” said Parton. “We should do better in our district than we did last year.”

Although Parton has worked with most of the girls on the current G-P team as an assistant, being the head of this year’s team has been an entirely different experience for the first-year coach.

“It’s a lot more exciting as a head coach,” said Parton. “I get to jump up and down on the sideline, and basically cause a scene. Basically, I feel way more involved.”