GUILDERLAND — The team will have more experienced players this year as they head into another season with high expectations.

The Lady Dutch, one of the top teams in the Suburban Council every year, has seven returning players on their 12-player roster.
"I think what we’ll have that we didn’t have last year is we’re a lot deeper," said Guilderland Coach Frank Cacckello. "They go out in practice and challenge one another because the talent level is out there and that will help us in games."

Most of the returning players got significant playing time on the varsity last year.
"We have a lot of players that know what we like to do in games," Cacckello said. "And they relay that to the newcomers on the team. I like our balance. We have a good core of seniors and we have five new kids on the team. But they are talented kids. We have a nice mix of leadership and senior presence."

The leadership begins with the players who Cacckello calls the trilogy — tri-captains Kristin Pezze, Nikki Branchini, and Mary Kate O’Connell.
"It starts there," Cacckello said. "We have three of our five starters back and two kids that came off the bench. Danielle Burns was a sophomore. She had a great sophomore year. She was aggressive on defense. We’ll be able to use her at both ends of the floor.
"Mel Ostrowski is one of the smartest players," Cacckello added. "And Tricia Loux battled for rebounds. Meghan Carroll did some of the dirty work inside and grabbed some rebounds for us."

The newcomers to the varsity are Mackenzie Michele, Alicia Bowman, Casey Peebles, Jess Bender, and Jen Madsen.

"In your face"

Cacckello said that the team has brought in a new offensive philosophy. They will move the ball differently than in years past.
"We’ve always been a good defensive team," Cacckello said. "And we’ve held our own on offense. We want to play an in-your-face type of offense. We want to come at you. And our defense was the best blueprint for that. We used our defense to teach our offense"We’ll be able to score. We’ve always been able to defend and now we’ll be able to do more things with the basketball. It’s more fun to play that way."

A good cast of players will only be part of the success for the Lady Dutch.
"Talent will only get you through the door," Cacckello said. "It’s what you do in the gym. They have a great work ethic and that is a big difference. They have a lot that they want to achieve.
"They really work a lot on what we do in the gym," Cacckello added. "You combine that work ethic with our talent and I’m thinking we’ll be good. But every year is different; you start from scratch."

The Lady Dutch open the season in the first weekend of December. They will face rival Colonie in the first round of the Bethlehem Tip-off Tournament on Dec. 1. The next night, the Lady Dutch will play Averill Park in the same tournament.

It’s a tough opener, as they face two rivals from the Suburban Council.
"The Suburban is good every year," Cacckello said. "The league is a bit inexperienced. Most of the teams are talented but young. The experience will help us. But we can’t just sit back and think things will happen for us. We definitely have to live up to our potential. We have a good team. Our expectations are high, but they are always high.
"We’ve had the luxury of going to the sectional semifinals for the last few years," Cacckello added. "We want to get back there."