With five returning players, the Wellsville-Middletown girls basketball team hopes to celebrate another strong season this winter.

Seniors Hallie Guzy and Keigan Hall, junior Helenea McKenzie and sophomores Elly Cash and Aubrey Harmon are back from last year’s team that finished 13-13. They are joined by two new players in seniors Alivia Stewart and Julia Dias and a new coach in Steve Lasman.

Lasman takes over head coaching duties after leading the W-M boys basketball team for seven seasons. He replaced Todd Cripe, who retired after the 2023-2024 season.

Last year, the Tigers finished with their third straight season with double-digit wins. They won 16 games in 2022-23 and 11 in 2021-22.

W-M won the Keytesville Tournament title for the second year in a row. It also had fourth-place finishes at the Montgomery County and New Franklin tournaments.

This year, the Tigers will look to replace a very talented senior class that included Bethany Slovensky, a four-time Eastern Missouri Conference performer who scored 967 points in her career.

Guzy and Hall are back for their fourth and final seasons with the Tigers. Hall is a two-time all-Montgomery County Invitational Tournament performer.

McKenzie is playing in her third season with the Tigers and Cash and Harmon are back for their second year.

W-M will start its season at 6 p.m. on Nov. 26 against Community R-6 on the road. A year ago, the Tigers beat the Trojans 41-34 at home, making it the first time since 2009 W-M defeated Community.

The Tigers added South Callaway and Paris to their schedule. They will play South Callaway on Jan. 3 at home and Paris on Jan. 16 on the road.