PEMBERVILLE — After coming to Eastwood from Botkins, south of Lima, Brittany Butler got her first taste of being a head coach in the Northern Buckeye Conference last year.

Butler, the niece of longtime Elmwood coach Doug Reynolds, where she was a star player, led Botkins to a 17-8 season and district tournament appearance before coming to Eastwood. At Botkins, Butler coached Carmen Heuker, who was a 1,000-point scorer and now plays for John Carroll University.

At Eastwood last year, the Eagles were 10-14 overall and 7-7 in the NBC, finishing third.

Butler believes this year’s Eastwood team can take it a step further — not only returning six letter winners, but getting two additional players back who missed last year because of injuries, and one who has considerable athleticism but has not played basketball in a couple years.

“We are extremely quick both offensively and defensively,” Butler said. “We have a lot of kids who are capable of scoring in different ways and I think that could create problems for some teams.

“With the quickness we need to continue to learn patience and control. Our main goal to improve on from last year is finishing inside the paint and communication. Those two things will be key for us to be in the race for that league title and a tournament run.”

Letter winners include 5-foot-7 senior guard Kayla Buehler, 5-7 senior guard Amelia Ward, 5-4 senior guard Saylor King, 5-10 senior center Paige Hoodlebrink, 5-8 junior forward Jordan Jensen and 5-4 junior guard Kyrie Henline.

Buehler, averaging 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds, was first team All-NBC and all-district and honorable mention All-Ohio last year.

“Kayla is one of the most talented, explosive guards in the league,” Butler said. “She is a versatile scorer. She understands the game and has shown a lot of dominance on both ends of the floor.”

Ward, averaging 8.9 points and 3.3 steals, was second team All-NBC and HM all-district, and Hoodlebrink, after putting up 5.7 points and four rebounds, was HM All-NBC and all-district.

“Amelia Ward is a strong utility player,” said Butler. “She is someone who plays relentlessly on both ends of the floor and is another one of those kids who can score in different ways for us.

“Paige Hoodlebrink is dominant on the boards, naturally athletic and a humble player. She has become much more confident on her inside game and will be an asset for us.”

Saylor King averaged 2.9 points and 2.4 steals and Henline averaged 4.4 points last year.

“Saylor King led us in assists last year and has done a great job of being our floor general,” Butler said. “She’s energetic on defense and does a lot of little things for us that don’t always show up in the stat book.

“Kyrie Henline has a really nice offensive game. She is becoming more and more confident offensively and defensively and we will look for her to be even more of a scorer this year.

“Jordan Jensen is coming off an injury from last season, she has become much stronger and confident. She will be a dominant presence for us inside the paint.

“We have some newcomers and underclassmen from last year that we will count on to be contributors as well.”

Also expected to contribute are senior Reilly Might and junior Mallory Sandberg.

“Reilly Might is very quick and a talented soccer player who has been away from the game for a couple years but is naturally picking back up where she left off,” Butler said.

“Mallory Sandberg is coming off an injury last season and does a great job of seeing the floor and is one of the kids you know you’ll always get her best.

“We have some underclassmen who are still competing for spots, but we have a nice returning sophomore group, along with some freshmen who have a chance to give us some good minutes. They are transitioning to the speed of the game, but bring a lot of natural skill.”

The Eagles were picked to finish third in the NBC in a preseason coaches’ poll.

“We have a lot of expectations for this group and keep preaching to the girls about staying confident in their abilities,” Butler said. “The NBC, like every year, is going to be a battle.

“We have a lot of talented teams. I am sure most teams feel this way, but we always preach to our kids, we’re going to get everyone’s best, and on any given night, it’s anyone’s game and with that we mentally and physically prepare ourselves to take care of what we can control and just go compete. We’re never going to overlook anyone.”

One thing Butler is not concerned about is her players’ desire to win, many coming over from successful soccer or volleyball seasons.

“We are a tight knit group,” Butler said. “The kids gel together really well both on and off the court which helps our team chemistry and I think our kids have gained a lot of confidence in themselves within the last year. It is exciting to see them making strides.

“This is a really special group. We have really good numbers in our program and I think we have something that kids are excited to be apart of.

“Now, most of us have a year under our belts together and we understand the roles and expectations of each other. The girls bought into a lot of new things last year, and we are just trying to continue to build on that system.”

“A lot of our success is going to stem from our senior class. They have a lot of experience, they are incredible leaders and they are fierce competitors. They are hungry for a league title and are looking to hopefully surprise some teams.”