The Wildcat girls’ basketball team has loads of experience, plus a fresh face guiding them this season.

Megan Botulinski, who coached at Twin Falls and Chief Kanim Middle Schools in the last few years, takes over for longtime coach Dirk Hansen, who resigned shortly after the end of last season. The new coach hopes fans are excited for a rollicking season.

“Expect a lot of hard play by the girls,” Botulinski said. “They play with their heart. They’re a real scrappy team — they like to push the ball up the court.”

Mount Si is a veteran group, led by seniors Karly Thompson, Traci Nelson and Allysa McLauchlin. Thompson expects intense energy and a lot of team ball, saying there is no single standout player this year.

The overall emphasis is on tough, defensive-oriented play, with a little higher offensive tempo.

Botulinski is backed up by assistants Ryan Hill, Larry White and Joe Galagan.

“The coaching staff and myself are really focusing on defense and hard play,” Botulinski said. “We want to press as much as we can, so we have to make sure the girls are in good condition.”

Botulinski’s philosophy this year is a fast push up the court, “as fast as we can, since we have those players. But we’re also developing our offensive sets, as well.”

Players to watch include juniors Jori Braun, Hailey Eddings and Stevie Riley, and sophomore Sarah McDonald, all of whom have considerable varsity experience. A key freshman to keep an eye on is post player Molly Sellers.

Botulinski expects Bellevue to be a team to watch within Kingco 3A this season. But an even bigger story is developing, one which could affect the future of the league.

“Big talk this year around the league is lack of girls, which we haven’t seen up here at Mount Si,” Botulinski said.

Two factors help the Wildcats attract high turnout compared to other schools.

“You have to have a real strong community program that will feed into your school and also your middle school programs,” Botulinki said. “I think we have both here.”

The switch from Hansen to Botulinski has been relatively calm.

“It’s been a good transition, not too bad,” McLauchlin said. “She’s really nice and everybody seems to love her.”

Part of the reason why the transition has been so smooth is that many girls in the program already know the coach.

“One of the big things with coaching is developing relationships, positive relationships, with girls. I’ve coached a lot of these girls already in middle school,” Botulinski said.

Leadership for younger players will be partly Thompson’s responsibility as a senior. She plans to do a lot in that area.

“I hope I can set an example for the younger girls — be early to practice, be one of the last people to leave, just set a positive attitude and try to encourage them as much as I can,” Thompson said.

“The girls have already said they really want to go to state,” Botulinski said. “If they work hard enough, we can be successful in districts and try to go to state.”