DAPHNE, Ala.—The Daphne Lady Trojans will tip off the 2013-14 basketball season in the McGill-Toolen Tip- Off Classic against Faith Academy on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.

Daphne head coach Tereance Pinkney will return three seniors to his high-octane offense and aggressive defense in Akajah Edwards, Tiera Green, and Brinesha Mason as well as  key players Victoria Mason, Alexis Jones, Erin Windham and Chloe Woods. Pinkney expects teamwork to be a major factor for success this season.

"This year will be exciting for me because we have a group of girls that have great chemistry with one another,” he said. “There is no one super star or outstanding player. They have worked hard in the weight room and the entire summer. They are eager to get started and every night they will bring energy to the floor.”

DHS finished 17-11 overall for 2012-13 and 6-2 in Class 6A, Area 3. Pinkney said losing experienced players to graduation such as point guard Kadesha Koen and post players Kirsten Henton, Cherese Hunter and Taylor Wright will force some  changes—especially to the inside game.

“Our weakness will be our size. All of the height is new to our program and my guards have to get use to playing with a true post player. Two of the post girls are true freshman and one has not played in a year. We will have to get used to having a presence in the post.”

But the third-year coach expects this mix of varsity experience and newcomers to take advantage of team speed and make progress every game.

“Coming into the 2013-14 season, our strong point will be our chemistry and speed. We had a really good summer and the girls all know each other well. They all get along and they know where each other will be on the court.”

Daphne’s first home game at Trojan Jubilee Gym is set for Nov. 19 versus McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Yellow Jackets.