by 
Copper Basin News
The Lady Bearcats reached the second-round of the Division IV State Championship last year with as many as 10 freshman and sophomores on their roster. With a number of those players returning this season, the ‘Cats expect to advance further this season.
“Absolutely,” answered first-year head coach Rikki Galka when asked if she expects the team to improve on last season’s results.
The ‘Cats return a total of 13 players from last season. The 2014 roster breaks down by class as follows: 8 seniors, 3 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 2 freshmen.
After experiencing success last year, Coach Galka expects the team to pick up where it left off. According to Galka, a simple approach will get the ‘Cats where they want to be at the end of the season.
“(We have) to know what the play is for each pitch and get the job done,” she said. “Each practice and each game we (increase) our level of play. We want to play our best daily.”
Tanya Reidhead and Monica Meza will serve as varsity assistants this season.
The ‘Cats opened their season on March 4 at Gilbert Classical Academy.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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