The Long County High School girls’ basketball team kicks off its regular season Saturday in Ludowici and will do so with new faces all over the roster.  
There will be a new coach calling the shots and a lot of new players taking shots. Taking over the reins of the girls’ team is Brian Todd. Todd, in his second year at Long County, has several years of basketball coaching experience, including as head coach for the Robert Toombs girls’ team. This is his second year at Long County High School. Last season, he was Blue Tide varsity assistant coach.  
Todd said that of the 21 girls playing for the Lady Tide, 13 are new.  
“We are just trying to revamp the program and invite and encourage more athletes to play basketball,” he said. “We have several athletes from the softball team that have decided to play, including Sam Garcia and Kaylyn McEwin, which will add a lot of athleticism to our squad.”
Todd said the team will be led by returning players Caitlin Wingate, Keke Calhoun and Kicha May. May sat out last season with a knee injury, but Todd expects senior leadership from her. Sophomores Katie Estill, Tyronica Johnson and Keshawndra Cooper also will also be on the court with Estill and Johnson at guard, and Cooper helping out in the post. Also, three freshmen will see a lot of playing time.
“We have a very talented freshman class, including Malaka Elix, Ravae Rose and Elexxus Wrighton,” Todd said. “These three young ladies will see valuable varsity action this year.”
Last season, the Lady Tide finished with a 5-14 record, winning two of their last three games including a first-round victory at the region tournament. However, Todd said, with his team being so young, the primary goal is to just get better every day.
“It may sound basic, but we don’t want to set a number on wins and losses … if we set our goal at eight wins and don’t accomplish that, then people will think our season was a failure. If we did achieve that goal early, we don’t want our players satisfied … setting a goal of improving every day is something we can strive for until our season ends,” he said.
The Lady Tide and the Blue Tide will face New Hampstead on Saturday starting with the girls’ game at
6 p.m. and boys’ game to follow.