Girls Basketball: Cougars Finessing Skills Ahead of District Play

The Oakton High girls basketball team have been nothing short of dominant since the season began, but Coach Fred Priester still doesn't feel his team has settled into a rhythm.

The Cougars have won the first five games by an average of 37 points, and continued their undefeated season start with a 74-16 victory over Falls Church High School on Tuesday night.

But the starting lineup, as well as their approach, has changed each game so far with the hope the team will become more cohesive and better prepared deep into the bench.

"We lost two Division I players last year. You don't replace them easily," Priester said, referring to Zora Stephenson (Elon University) and Danielle Davis (Central Connecticut State University).

To some schools, losing two high-caliber players would force them into a rebuilding year, but Oakton still has three starters from the 2010-11 undefeated regular season: seniors Caroline Coyer and Katherine Coyer, and junior Elizabeth Manner, who led Tuesday's game with 15 points. The Coyer twins committed last spring to play collegiate basketball with Villanova University.

"I think we've also got a lot of girls who help round out our team and people don't know them yet," said Priester, whose record at Oakton High stands at 402-63. "People are going to think, 'If we can stop [the Coyers and Manner], then we can win.' The truth is we've girls who can come off the bench who can play and help us win games."

Priester and the Cougars plan to continue to finetune their game through the end of December, with hopes that tough matchups against James Madison and Georgetown Visitation will help challenge them heading into Concorde District play.

"We'll find out a little bit more about how far we've come and where we need to be after we face those two," Priester said. "So we have about a week to get in a more competitive mindset before we face those guys and head into district competition."

The Cougars are next scheduled to play 7:30 p.m. Friday at West Potomac.