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PARKERSBURG -- Regardless of the departures, there are no shoes to fill.
As the Class AA defending state champions, the Parkersburg Catholic girls basketball team is about to embark on creating their own identity. Creating their own legacy.
One full week into preseason practices, the 'Crusaderette 10' have pushed the reset button just like PCHS teams of the past which have combined for 10 state titles since the first team was established 50 years ago.
The formula works.
"As special as last year's team was, it wasn't just about a one and done deal," Marty Vierheller, who begins his 17th season as the head coach for PCHS girls basketball and 29th season overall with the program. "It's next team up. This year's team is not about defending anything right now. They are trying to do something special themselves."
Whether it was all-state sisters Leslie or Madeline, this year marks the first in six seasons without a Huffman family member in a PCHS uniform. Leslie Ross, who didn't start as a junior then became an all-stater last season as a senior, is another player who has completed her career at the school.
PCHS completed a magical run last season, going 24-0 and avenging a loss to Wyoming East in the championship game. The Crusaderette family savored every moment. That was then and this is now.
"We can't expect to be another Leslie or Lainie - that has nothing to do with this year," PCHS junior Mary Tokodi-Ruth firmly stated.0
Tokodi-Ruth is one of six returning letterwinners from last season.
"We are a different team" Tokodi-Ruth continued. "We have new personnel and we will find out who we are. We are going to work with what we have.
"As far as what this team is about, we will find out come our first scrimmage and first game."
Deborah Hardbarger is one of two seniors on the roster. Since her seventh grade year when she continually told assistant coach Tom Carr about her anticipation of joining the PCHS family, the girls basketball program has treated her like family. She got misty-eyed thinking about her final high school season.
"Parkersburg Catholic has had a great basketball team all these years and they keep producing the same type of players every year," Hardbarger said. "They care about family. It's such a small school - we all hang out together. I feel like we have all built families at this school and made really good friends.
"On the court, we don't care who scores. It's about whether we can win the game together more than individual stats."
Also receiving a taste of the state venue last season at the Charleston Coliseum were senior Tiana Tauber, and juniors Izzy DeAngelo, Akhia Miller and Jocelyn Thorn. Todoki-Ruth and Thorn have 6 games of experience playing on the biggest stage for high school girls basketball in the state of West Virginia.
Four newcomers will be thrown into the fire. Direct from Waterford, junior Morgan Sampson joined the program in the summer. The freshman class includes twin sisters Tess and Megan Roedersheimer, along with Gabriela Bowersock.
Thorn, better known to her teammates as 'Saucelyn,' is a 3-point shooting machine. This year, her role will be upgraded with breaking down the defense with dribble penetration.
In Coach Vierheller's system, a true point guard is not necessarily defined. Yet, Thorn and Tokodi-Ruth are considered the playmakers.
"During my middle school days, I played a little bit of point guard, but probably not as much as I will be this year," Thorn said.
The players are blessed to have the likes of 2010 PCHS graduate Katlyn Richards as a member of Vierheller's coaching staff for the second straight season.
Last season when the roster consisted of nine members, Richards stepped in and laced up her shoes as the 10th man for practices.
Through the encouragement of Leslie Huffman and Lainie Ross, Richards had "10th man" scripted on her state championship ring. Richards also signed "10th man" on the back of the team's championship banner.
"That was our 10th championship in girls basketball, so 10 is such an important number here at Parkersburg Catholic," Richards said.
On the afternoon of Feb. 4 in a home game against Frankfort, PCHS will honor the school's first girls basketball team. At that juncture, the current team will have a much better handle on what the postseason holds.
"I said in practice the other day that Leslie and Lainie do not want us coming to practice every day lamenting their graduation," Vierheller said. "Our goals will always be the same."
Until then, the Crusaderettes are in the midst of creating an identity and creating its own legacy. Several Class AAAA and AAA schools are on the docket, so there is no downgrading the schedule.
PCHS welcomes all comers.
As assistant coach Carr simply said, "Don't judge us in December. Judge us in February."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com