Ashville Coach Dale Beason said this year’s Lady Bulldog team’s biggest strength might be their depth. They will rely on post player Kim Fuller for points and rebounds in the paint and Beason also mentioned that Mara Mattison and Angelica Gillispie will be relied on for leadership for some of the younger players like Bianca Bothwell, Jacie Tipton and Kristen O’Barr. “Our team is going to deep. All twelve could play at any given time. Everybody we have is going to be counted on. We’re pretty tough from one to twelve,” Beason said.

Ashville held on in the final seconds to win their first game of the year last week against Pell City, 56-54. “In the Pell City game I thought we played pretty well. At times our youth and inexperience showed through so we were fortunate to win the ball game and glad to win. It’s always good to beat a solid team like Pell City.”

The Lady Bulldogs feature a balanced roster of five seniors, four juniors and three sophomores. Beason said they lost some key leadership but are bringing back three starters from last year. “We lost a powerful senior class, the girls are going to have to step up this year. From what I saw in the first game we’re headed in the right direction. We have a very tough schedule and they’ll be tested night in and night out. I hope they come to practice and the games ready to work because there are no easy ones on our schedule.”

Ashville dropped Boaz and Douglasville from their region and picked up St. Clair County and Locust Fork. Ragland, Cherokee County and Crossville were also added as regular season games. “That’s pretty tough when you pick up the defending 3A state champions in Crossville and perennial powers like Cherokee County and Ragland who always has a solid girls’ team,” Beason said. “We didn’t do ourselves any favors.”