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Beverly Girls Basketball Preview

Last year's record: 16-6 (lost to Lexington, 67-46, in Division 1 North quarterfinals)

Coach: Matt Smith (8th season)

Key returnees: Breezy Dwyer, Sr. C; Alex Valvadelis, Sr. G; Kelly Shea, Jr. F.

Key departures: Brittany Batchelder, Nikki Nardella, Shaina Manuel, Catie Cullen.

Strengths: Depth and speed. Despite graduating most of the players that made up the Panthers' depth and speed from a year ago, Beverly should not suffer in those departments this winter.

Concerns: Experience. Beverly lost quite a few seniors, including Batchelder, Nardella, Manuel, and Cullen , who made up four-fifths of the starting lineup. Smith hopes holdovers Dwyer, Valvadelis, and Shea can lead a young team, especially early in the season.

Coach's outlook: "Our outlook is always to make the tournament and to compete in every game. I think with all the losses from graduation there probably will be some team that look beyond us. One of our goals is to make sure that we compete with teams that might be looking beyond us. I think the kids that were with us last year will help us do that because nothing breeds winning like winning."