For head coach Carrie Mahon and her Lady Panthers, the new season brings the goal of getting past the date of Feb. 14, the date in which Mahon’s team  nd themselves knocked out of postseason play year after year.

With conditioning done, the preparation begins for Mahon and her Lady Panthers. She looks to her senior leadership to try and get the team to play in Lakeland for the right to a State Title.

“Senior leadership is just incredible. Payton {Paro} has been on varsity now for her fourth year. She brings so much to the court in terms of skill, but she also brings leadership,” Carrie Mahon said. “We’re probably going to have one or two first year seniors with us, and Payton has done an awesome job accepting them and because of that, the rest of the girls are too.”

Compared to past seasons, Coach Mahon has cited lack of defensive aggressiveness as a setback for past teams, which is why they found early exists. But according to those on the team there are little to no weaknesses for this team.

“We have a lot of guards this year so the game will be a lot more fast paced. I can also tell that it’s going to be a really fun year with all of the different personalities on the team,” Alexys Mathangani, sophomore, said.

The Lady Panthers are also looking forward to taking on specifi opponents during their season.

“There’s always the Robinson rivalry with every sport, so it applies to us. For some reason I love playing Alonso, because it’s always a good challenge and I’m familiar with the girls on the team there,” junior, Martie Mahon, said. “Plant City is fun because we always win and my family is over there too.”

Paro says that her time under Coach Mahon has been valuable.

“{She} makes it a focal point that everything is for the team, I really think that it’s important and I will carry that with me for the rest of my life. The team is always first, and we wouldn’t have found success otherwise,” Paro said.

In addition to the cast of returning players, there’s also new role players added to the already growing team. One of these players is Honor Culpepper, freshman, who will be one of the new incoming freshman apart of Mahon’s team.

“So far, Coach Mahon has taught me a lot about good fundamentals and being a good teammate. I’m looking forward to learning more from her throughout the season,” Culpepper said.

Culpepper admits that being a freshman on a high school basketball team can be a bit scary too. “Everyone is so much older and mature which is a bit intimidating but I actually think it’s a good thing because it makes me motivated to be like them. In the end, it will help me as a player and as a person,” Culpepper said.

Whether it be a freshman or a returning senior, the cast of role players on the Lady Panther team will try and raise another banner to the gymnasium wall in hopes of capturing a state title.

With conditioning done, the preparation begins for Mahon and her Lady Panthers. She looks to her senior leadership to try and get the team to play in Lakeland for the right to a State Title.