With colder days comes the noises of bouncing basketballs in sink to the sounds of tennis shoes filling the walls of the gym, as the girls basketball season approaches.

The addition of new head coach, Andrew Curtis, to the program has caused for high aims for a  successful season. During his short time at Perry, Coach Curtis has already built a strong rapport with the girls, especially his seniors.

“[The seniors] are more mature and they are really going to lay the foundation for the future,” said Coach Curtis. “They have experience, they’ve played in a lot of varsity games and I am excited for them to be the foundation of what’s to come.”

The tremendous amount of depth and talent of the team, with nine seniors, seven juniors, and five sophomores returning, will hopefully lead to success in this season.

With the majority of the team being made-up by seniors, those girls plan to take control of building this year’s team.

“He’s a great coach and he connects with the team, but our seniors this year have taken the step up to lead the program,” Junior Megan Colborn said.

The Pumas have set high expectations for this season, not only individually but as a team; having lost two of the starters from the team, Brittany Karlick and DeNeira Gillium, who graduated last year. The girls will have to compensate for their absence by working extra hard to fill those positions and to hold true to their reputation.

“Our goals for this season is to make it in the top eight of our division as well as working together as a team and being unified,” Junior Taylor Jobe said.

The anticipation of a new season just around the corner is getting the Pumas extremely excited for a fresh start from last season. The opening tournament is coming up on Nov. 21 in Fountain Hills, and the girl’s basketball team is preparing for a victorious 2016-17 season.

“Everything has changed from last year. New mindsets. New players. New coach…,” said Sophomore Simone Simmons, “ just know that big things are ahead for your lady Perry Pumas!”