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As season draws near, plenty to be excited about in girls hoops

Warren sophomore guard Margo Loutzenhiser is one of the key returners for the Lady Dragons in 2016-17.

Warren won’t repeat as District 10 Class 4A Champions in 2016-2017.

That’s because the Lady Dragons, along with several other public schools, chose to move up to 5A under the PIAA’s new six-classification system. Both boys and girls basketball saw two additional classes added with the new enrollment cycle, just like football in the fall and baseball and softball in the spring.

Reactions to the change have been mixed so far. With the winter sports season right around the corner, here are a few other girls basketball points of interest:

TEAMS TO WATCH

1A: Region 1 should be slighly more competitive on the girls side with Commodore Perry, Farrell, Jamestown and Kennedy Catholic making up half of an eight-team field. Those four are the only teams left in Class 1A while the other half of the region is 2A.

2A: West Middlesex is coming off a state playoff appearance and returns several key members of that team, including leading scorer Delaney Dogan. The Lady Reds are one of the four 2A teams in Region 1, while the remaining teams in the class compete in Region 3.

Cochranton and Cambridge Springs are bringing back strong teams while Maplewood has a younger group but could also make a run. Eisenhower and Youngsville were competitive a season ago, but both teams lost their leading scorers and need to rely on new players to step up on offense.

3A: D-10’s third largest class is split between Region 2 (Mercer County) and Region 4 (Erie County). Seneca and North East should have the best chance out of Erie County, but that league also features 4A powers Villa Maria and Mercyhurst Prep. Region 2 is a toss up between Greenville, Lakeview, Wilmington, Sharon and Sharpsville.

4A: Like in the last two-year enrollment cycle, several public schools moved up to avoid playing Villa Maria and Mercyhurst Prep. Only three other teams remained as Oil City, Titusville and Franklin make up part of Region 2.

Villa is the obvious choice to repeat as D-10 champions despite losing the “big three” of Anna Sweny, Sarah Agnello and Jennifer Oduho. The Victors will get a boost from the return of Andrea McCormick, who has battled knee injuries throughout her varsity career. She’ll provide the senior leadership along with Julia Casella and Autumn Byes.

5A/6A: Warren is in a new class this year, but will play many of the same teams and should be the favorites to defend last year’s district title. The Lady Dragons have to replace 1,000-point scorers D.J. Hahn and Paige Wilson but added Youngsville transfers Autumn and Alanna Hultberg, both of whom can help in the backcourt. They’ll join established varsity players Margo Loutzenhiser, Maddie Loutzenhiser and Rachel Wilson as Warren shifts to a more uptempo style of play.

The remaining 5A programs make up Region 5 and Region 6. General McLane and Hickory look like the teams to beat in the southern region while Fort LeBoeuf, Central Tech, Harbor Creek and McDowell can challenge the Lady Dragons in Region 6. McDowell is District 10’s only 6A school.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kaylee Young (Fort LeBoeuf): Young shared Region 7 Player of the Year honors with Warren’s D.J. Hahn and McDowell’s Emily Fromknecht, but is the only returner of the three as she helps lead the upstart Lady Bison into a new season. Young averaged just under 19 points per game as a junior.

Delaney Dogan (West Middlesex): Dogan led the Lady Reds with 12.7 points and 3.7 assists per game as a sophomore and was named Region 1 Player of the Year for her efforts. At an athletic 5-10, Dogan is a match-up problem for most teams and should help West Middlesex make a return trip to the PIAA Tournament.

Andrea McCormick (Villa Maria): McCormick has been sidelined by a pair of knee injuries throughout her high school career, but that didn’t stop her from committing to play basketball at Columbia University. McCormick will be one of the players Villa relies on to fill the void left by the graduation of Anna Sweny, Sarah Agnello and Jennifer Oduho.

Margo Loutzenhiser (Warren): Only a sophomore, Loutzenhiser has the highest point total of any Lady Dragon returning from last year’s D-10 title team. She’ll lead the backcourt along with Youngsville transfer Autumn Hultberg as Warren looks to add a 5A Championship to the trophy case this season.

Others to watch: Kirsten Baran (Eisenhower), Caitlin Craig (Youngsville), Elke D’Urso (Reynolds), Haylie Glass (Mercer), Marissa Hopson (Farrell), Autumn Hultberg (Warren), Maggie Hunter (Maplewood), Haley Kurelowech (Corry), Mackenzie MacKay (West Middlesex), Katie Redinger (McDowell), Alexis Rodenbaugh (North East), Emily Shopene (Mercyhurst Prep), Neely Whitehead (Hickory), Rachel Wilson (Warren), Haylee Wright (Seneca).

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