HUNTINGTON -- The 2009-10 girls basketball season is nearly upon us as teams break out of the routine of practices and into the routine of game-like scrimmages this week.

Both Huntington High and Huntington St. Joe are looking to make it back to Charleston for state championship appearances while several other teams are getting the pieces together to make a run as well.

Here's a capsule look at team previews for the upcoming season with their 2008-09 record in parentheses.

HUNTINGTON HIGH (23-4, 2008-09 CLASS AAA STATE RUNNER-UP)

Two-time state player of the year Whitney Bays will miss the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the summer, but the Highlanders are by no means hanging their heads.

With Ohio University-bound guard Erin Bailes and Division I prospect Talequia Hamilton returning along with speedy threat Leah Ching, the Highlanders are poised to make a run back to the state championship game for a fourth-consecutive year.

While Bailes will take on more of a scoring and leadership role this season after signing last week with the Bobcats, it is Hamilton that is poised for a breakout year.

Hamilton has received lots of interest for the Class of 2011, and with Bays down for the year, Hamilton has the opportunity to take the Highlanders' frontcourt under her wing and emerge into another national top prospect for Huntington High.

The team opens its season on Dec. 4 at Winfield.

Huntington St. Joe (22-5, Class A state champions)

Senior leaders Jill Pulley and Stephanie Sang departed the Huntington St. Joe program after helping lead the Irish to their first girls basketball state title in school history, but that doesn't mean a repeat is out of the question.

Actually, it is expected.

When the preseason polls come out in a few weeks, the Irish will once again be right in the thick of things with returning guards Dusti Chapman and Kiki Smith and Sara Sang back in the post.

This year, the Irish will feature twin towers down low as Sara Sang will team with Brooke Keeton down low. Keeton signed to play Division I basketball at Furman last week and has been a double-double machine at Raceland (Ky.) for the last three years.

The presence of two 6-foot-plus Division I caliber players underneath will make the Irish a hard team to knock off in West Virginia's smallest classification.

Spring Valley (12-13, Class AAA, Region IV finalist)

Spring Valley coach Bo Miller is still gauging exactly what his basketball team is exactly going to look like in the 2009-10 season.

That's because several pieces of the puzzle were busy winning a Class AAA state volleyball title.

With the volleyball trophy already in its case, the Timberwolves now switch focus to the winter sports schedule -- one which they hope proves to be fruitful.

Spring Valley started the year at 10-5, but losses in eight of the last 10 games of the season pushed the team under the .500 mark.

The Timberwolves lost seniors Sarah Adkins and Alexa Macri to graduation, but point guard Cadara Cole returns along with center Kelsey Plybon to lead the charge this season.

If Spring Valley can find consistency in its scoring, the defensive prowess is there for the Timberwolves to finish strong in 2009-10.

The Timberwolves open their season Dec. 11 at the Barbara J. Morrone/Key Player Shootout at Tolsia.

Cabell Midland (4-20, section semifinalist)

At first glance, the record for the Knights might give the impression that it was a dismal season.

However, Matt Adkins' first season at the helm was quite the contrary.

The young Cabell Midland team lost 18 of its first 19 games, but things started to come together at the end of the year when the Knights won three of their final five games, including a win over normal Class AAA contender Capital.

Brooke Bellomy led the team in scoring last season, and will likely shoulder much of the scoring load in her junior season. Also in the mix are seniors Emily Sarver and Jessie Adams. Sarver is a defensive force underneath while Adams can hit the open shot and distribute the ball well in the offensive scheme.

The Knights open the season at Nitro on Dec. 3.

National Video

Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch

Huntington High's Talequia Hamilton attempts a shot in a game against Woodrow Wilson last season. With teammate Whitney Bays forced by injury to forego her senior year, an opportunity arises for Hamilton to play a bigger role on her team.

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