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By KIM NORTH
HANNIBAL -- It's not often that a small school in a rural area has an NCAA Division I basketball player come around. That was such the case the last four years at River.
Now, coach Rick Isaly and his staff are preparing for life without 6-foot Ohio State freshman Jensen Caretti.
"You can't replace Jensen," Isaly admitted, "but you've got to do what you can with the kids you have."
In addition to Caretti, who scored three points in the Buckeyes' season-opener, also lost to graduation were Brielle Williams, Abby Caldwell and Haley Winkler.
"That group won more than 80 games in four years," Isaly said. "Great group of girls. We just came up short in the OVAC Tournament two years in a row. We had beaten Frontier twice and we went up there (to OUE) and didn't show up on defense."
The Pilots do return four letterwinners. Only one of them is a senior, that being Bailey Caldwell, and there are no juniors.
Six sophomores and three freshmen complete the 11-player roster.
"We're a very young group," Isaly said. "We don't have a lot of size. We don't have a lot of shooters or ball-handlers, but we have kids that have played together since the third grade. They play well together and they enjoy playing together. They are a fun group to coach.
"I really don't know what the season will bring, though. I've told the girls the past two years that I could look at our schedule and see here's a win, here's a win, this will be a tough game … but this year I look at every game on our schedule and say there are no guarantees. If we play well, we can be there at the end most nights."
The 5-7 Caldwell is a three-year veteran.
"She will be the key to our team," Isaly said. "She's played for me for three years. We need her to step up and be the team leader on the floor. She needs to be a scorer for us because she has the potential to score a good bit of points. We're working on her shot."
Flannery, a 5-6 forward, was the third-leading scorer a season ago.
"She has gotten better," Isaly said of the daughter of football coach Mike Flannery. "She worked hard this summer playing AAU. She's constantly got a basketball in her hands and she has gotten a lot stronger. She will be a key for us."
Rounding out the roster are sophomores Carsyn Reynolds, Riley Lollathin, Macey Ladyga, Candace Caldwell, Faith Ingram and Livi Rose, along with freshmen Alli Long and Cortney Sapp.
Reynolds, a 5-7 sophomore, was the sixth man last year until an ACL tear ended her season.
"Carsyn was really playing well for us before she got hurt in January," Isaly recalled. "I really like what she brings to the table. Her getting injured really hurt us. She rebounds and plays good defense. She's healthy and looking good so far."
The 5-2 Lollathin was a spot player.
Ladyga, a 5-8 forward, didn't play last season.
Caldwell is a 5-6 guard/forward.
Ingram is a 5-6 forward.
Rose was primarily a jayvee player last season. Long is a 5-8 forward.
Sapp is a 5-9 forward/center.
Dean Caldwell and Bob Cicogna return as assistant coaches.