It’s that time of the year again: the weather is getting chilly, the leaves have fallen from the trees, and people are geared up for the holiday season. That can only mean one thing…

It’s basketball season.

The Lady Indians finished a strong 2015-16 campaign with an 18-9 record and a district championship, dominating Fort Zumwalt West in the championship game, 56-40. The team’s season came to an end with a tough loss to Francis Howell in sectionals, 60-51.

The Lady Indians have high expectations for this season, and STL Today has taken notice, as Holt ranks number 5 among large schools in Week 1 of their stlhighschoolsports.com rankings behind only Edwardsville, Kirkwood, Parkway North, and Webster Groves.

Despite these very high expectations, Holt still has a young team; with Meredith Adam, Madi Peyton, Matti Porzenski, and Mel Taouil graduating in 2016, the Lady Indians are left with only two seniors. That means 10 of the 12 players on the roster are juniors or younger, including three freshmen.

With this young group of talent, Head Coach Rick Jungermann points to leadership from the lone seniors on the team, Allie Barry (‘17) and Jillian Starke (‘17), as keys to the Lady Indians’ success.“They just have to step up and be senior leaders,” Jungermann said. “It’s their last season. Hopefully they can bring the leadership that the seniors did last year. Allie has done a really nice job being a vocal leader, and Jillian is not far behind.”

Barry also stresses the importance of she and Starke being leaders for the younger players on the squad. “One of the most important things for us is leading the team,” Barry said. “This means making sure practice is running smoothly and bringing positive energy into the gym. It’s really our job to keep everyone up.”

Starke notes that she and Barry have an important role in keeping the girls focused and in-tune during practice. “We need to make sure the girls are conditioned and not slowing practice down in any way,” Starke said.

As seniors, Barry and Starke know their individual roles on the court and know what they can do to help their team win. Barry, as a physical presence in the paint at 5’11”, points to her defensive prowess as the most important aspect of her game. “My role is primarily as a defensive player, especially rebounding” Barry said.

As for Starke, a 5’8” shooting guard, her role will be quite different than Barry’s. “Offensive-wise, my role will be primarily shooting,” Starke said. She is pretty good at it, too, as she shot 50% from downtown last season.

Starke also pointed to her role in the Lady Indians’ tenacious press defense. “On defense, I’m at the front of the press for trapping,” Starke said.

The Lady Indians hope that their youth and their high energy style of play will carry them to not only a district championship, but potentially a state berth. It seems as though they have the potential to reach this point. All they can do is put forth their best effort on the court and see where it takes them.

But watch out…

The Lady Indians are locked and loaded.

All schools beware…