The Hillsboro Indians girls basketball team and coach JR Moberly hope to improve their standing this season over last year’s 3-20 record.

Moberly told The Times-Gazette he has six juniors and four sophomores on the roster this year. Of that number, seven earned some of their first varsity minutes last season, and three had no varsity time at all.

Of those returning, Moberly said Madi Marsh is the top returning scorer.

“Marsh will be our starting point guard,” he said. “She played a little when she was a freshman so she’s probably the one with most varsity experience.”

Of the team as a whole, Moberly said each of the girls has shown promise at different times during the preseason, but it hasn’t been completely consistent.

“It’s just one of those deals where we’ll see who’s playing hard and playing well,” he said.

Moberly said the team has a way to go before it can be competitive, mainly because it needs to improve its shooting and rebounding.

“I think, if we can put everything together, we can come out and compete every night,” he said. “But we could just as easily struggle every night if we don’t put it all together.”

Especially, he said, considering how tough the league already is.

“There are a couple teams on our schedule who are going to be tough, but we’re hoping we can compete,” he said. “In the conference, Chillicothe, McClain and Miami Trace all are returning a lot of really nice players. I think all the schools in our conference are going to be competitive. Washington Court House is smaller than us, but Wilmington will be pretty strong. Lynchburg-Clay is one of the elite teams in our area, and we have them on our schedule, so that’ll be a tough one as well.”

Moberly said he’s hesitant to predict how the team will do this year, but he hopes the team as a whole will become more competitive as the season goes on.

“Our girls need to learn how to compete,” he said. “We have good height and depth on our roster. All of ours players will contribute.”

David Wright is the sports editor for the Times-Gazette. He can be reached at 937-402-2570.

Back row, left to right: Riley Moberly, Lana Grover, Sydney Bobbitt, Taylor Chaney, Mackenzie Cosby, Natalie Sullivan, Kayley Burns, Ashleigh Baucom and Kelsey Burns. Front row, left to right: Loraleigh Mayhan, Karleigh Hopkins, Kayden Watson, Jordan Moberly, Christine Page, Kira Watson, Josie Hopkins and Madi Marsh.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2016/11/web1_HHS-girls.jpgBack row, left to right: Riley Moberly, Lana Grover, Sydney Bobbitt, Taylor Chaney, Mackenzie Cosby, Natalie Sullivan, Kayley Burns, Ashleigh Baucom and Kelsey Burns. Front row, left to right: Loraleigh Mayhan, Karleigh Hopkins, Kayden Watson, Jordan Moberly, Christine Page, Kira Watson, Josie Hopkins and Madi Marsh. JR Moberly photo