Lady basketball Dolphins deep but young

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By RYAN McCARTHY

rmccarthy@keynoter.com

Posted - Saturday, November 07, 2009 11:00 AM EST

A very young Marathon High School girls basketball team takes to the court Tuesday and Wednesday for a preseason tournament hosted by Key West High School.

The team returns seven players, but will sorely miss the leadership and effort provided by its five graduated seniors.

This year the Dolphins will likely lean on prospective point guard Dionis Herrada and forward Alaina Davis. Coach Amanda Hirschauer says Herrada's displayed solid ball-handling skills and consistency, while Davis will look to improve her play in the post.

"I'm just looking for her to take charge down low and be aggressive and get some points and get to the free throw line," Hirschauer said.

Hirschauer said she's focusing on rebuilding a program that's struggled in recent years. Despite five seniors graduating, the varsity team has 12 players and the junior varsity -- which didn't field a team last year -- has 11.

Assistant football coach Andre Garvey, a former star athlete for the Dolphins, takes over this year as JV coach. Hirschauer said he's preaching fundamentals to the girls.

"His goal is to get them knowledgeable about basketball," she said. "We opened it up to sixth-graders. We're trying to get the younger girls involved."

Both Tuesday and Wednesday's games are scheduled for 6 p.m. in Key West.