Paul Gould is entering his first season as Whitehall girls’ basketball coach and he has a core group of athletes who have played together in basketball and other sports.

“These girls play very well together,” he said, “A lot of them played with each other in soccer together and they play well with one another.”

The program will be looking for a bounce back year after struggling a season ago, finishing 2-13 in the league and 2-15 overall. Gould said I did not know the team’s record from a season ago, but that he is optimistic that this group can turn things around.

“I’m hoping at least .500 this year, if not better,” Gould said, “I think this team can compete very well in the league, we have some very good athletes.”

Offensively the Railroaders will be relying on some senior leadership, including Caity Sandford, Brooke Paddock and Rachel Lavin.

“Caity Sandford is a presence on the inside at about 5’ 10”, Brooke Paddock will be moving from point guard to shooting guard hopefully, and Rachel Lavin is good threat on the outside,” Gould said.

Gould was particularly optimistic about the post presence that Sandford would supply, saying “she is very tall for this league.”

With so many multisport athletes on the team, Gould will be trying to use their athleticism to the team’s advantage.

“We have a lot of girls who can run,” he said, “We are going to try and use that to keep up the pace and wear down some of the teams we play.”

In terms of defense, Gould said the team will be playing a lot of man-to-man, while also playing some occasional 3-2 zone, which the team will trap out of.

The girls’ next game is tomorrow at home against Bolton. Tip off for tomorrow evening’s game is set for 5:30 p.m.