With eight players back, three of them starters, the Bland County girls basketball team is looking to make an upward move in the Mountain Empire District this season.

Returning starters for the Lady Bears, who finished 2-6 in the MED and 7-16 overall, are Jessie Blessing (Sr, 5-6, G, 8.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 2.1 steals per game), Kelsey Dinger (Sr, 5-8, F, 5.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Alyssa Harris (Jr, 5-10, F, 3.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg).

Also hitting the court this season are Allison Morgan (Sr, 5-6, G, 2.2 ppg, 2.0 spg), Holly Williams (Sr, 5-4, G), Paige Brinkley (Sr, 5-4, G), Julia Davis (Jr, 5-8, F), Erin Brinkley (Jr, 5-5, G), Samantha Garland (Jr, 5-8, F) and Amber Eaton (Soph, 5-6, G, 3.8 ppg, 4.2 spg).

Head coach Jason Lambert had this to say about five players who he feels will make an impact this season.

Amber Eaton (Soph): Amber played behind one of the best point guards in the District last year (Katie Tate – who is assisting me this year). She has worked hard this summer and is starting to develop her shooting touch. She is by far the quickest athlete that I’ve ever coached and loves to get out and run.; Jessie Blessing (Sr): Jessie is one of two players that played during the 09-10 season which we one the District, Regional and played in the state qtr finals. With her leadership and knowledge of the game, she should have a great season. She is our top returning scorer from last year.; Kelsey Dinger (Sr.): Our only real post player, Kelsey has to step up and rebound the ball well this year. She has a nice shooting touch and should help get us out and running with her rebounding skills. She was also on the 09-10 squad.; Paige Brinkley (Sr): Paige is actually one of the last kids that we had transfer over from Pocahontas when they shut down back in 08-09. Of all the kids that I’ve coached including Wright that played at Ferrum and Hankins that is playing at Roanoke, this one has the softest shot that I’ve ever seen. She scored 16 against Ft. Chiswell last year and if we can get her to get her shot off quicker, she could be a hidden jewel. She has worked extremely hard this summer on getting her shot off more quickly. If she can do that she could easily average double figures.; and Alyssa Harris (Jr): Alyssa will surprise people this year with her speed, size and jumping ability. She started 21 out of 22 games last year and will hopefully be a force this year.

As for the Bears strenghths and weakness, the coach noted that quickness would be their biggest quickness, while size and depth (only 10 players) will be the team's biggest weakness.

"This year’s team doesn’t have much size or depth but has a lot of speed at each position.  This will be by far the quickest overall team that I’ve coached here at Bland," said Lambert. "With this being said, we are working on getting up and down the floor on both sides of the ball. The depth and size does concern me but if we can pressure people into making mistakes and can create some easy scoring opportunities on the offensive end, I hope the size doesn’t matter."

Bland County sees their biggest games of the season as those with Narrows, Galax and Graham.

"To be successful this year we have to pressure the ball constantly and get up and down the floor at a high pace. In the past I’ve had teams that could play under control and consistently shoot 35-40% from the field and win. With this group I feel like we cannot shoot that high of a percentage in a half court game and will have to get more baskets in transition. With the size that we have we will have to rebound the ball well and force our opponents into taking quick shots. This group works extremely hard and has potential to be a contender by the end of the year," added Lambert.

The Bears open their season on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Tazewell.