As the girls basketball season began on Monday, all five programs in Robeson County are looking to take a step forward this season from what they’ve accomplished the last couple of years.

That’s often said about teams this time of year, but it’s realistically a goal for all five programs, whether that’s from an undefeated regular season to a state championship, conference contender to conference champ, or struggling program to competitive one.

Listed alphabetically, here are previews for all five of Robeson County’s girls basketball teams:

Fairmont Golden Tornadoes

A core of players have been with Fairmont girls basketball coach Marcus Thompson since he joined the program in 2019. They were freshman then; they’re now juniors as the Golden Tornadoes (7-4 overall, 3-3 conference last season; 2-0 this season) look to make the playoffs for the first time in Thompson’s tenure.

Paris Bethea will miss the season due to injury, but guard Lakayla Chavis and forward Amyrikal Vaught will be key for Thompson’s team in their junior campaign, as will forward Secret Davis, who joined that core as a sophomore.

“I’ve never experienced coaching girls without (Bethea, Chavis and Vaught), and all it means is Lakayla’s got to step up and do what she’s always been able to do, she’s just never been the one to do it,” Thompson said. “Having two that can do it, that’s amazing. My expectations for them are high, because even if they’re not scoring the ball I’m expecting them to be able to handle the ball.”

Senior Destiny Melvin is also an experienced guard who will be key defensively for Fairmont. Three freshman join the fold this winter, with wing Zariah Locklear and twin guards Niah Smith and Miah Smith.

“I’ve had them since sixth, seventh grade, so I’ve trained them,” Thompson said. “They’ve learned a lot of things that middle-school kids don’t get to learn.”

Lumberton Pirates

The Lumberton Pirates’ roster is somewhat unique in that it’s a team without any seniors, but one which is still relatively experienced with several players who earned significant minutes as underclassmen last season.

“We’re looking to make some big advancements this year,” Lumberton coach Ivy Johnson said. “We’re not sitting and waiting, we’re trying to put our foot down and make something happen. Our focus is to continue to build, get better, get more confident and get a little tougher.”

The core of juniors La’Kayia Hunt and Carly Hammonds at guards and Sydney Jacobs at forward will step into the leadership roles for the Pirates (4-8 overall, 2-6 conference last season; 0-1 this season).

“We’re looking for them to start getting there,” Johnson said. “We’re looking for one of them to say, hey, let’s go. Once we get that, I think all it takes is one, and the rest will follow.”

Two freshman, guard Gabby Locklear and forward Kearstin Hunt, will be impactful in their varsity debuts; sophomores Bre’Andrea Glover, at guard, and Florence Ferguson, at forward, step into larger roles this season.

“(Ferguson and Glover) are two girls that have been playing basketball, they know it, they’ve just got to get it to start clicking,” Johnson said.

Purnell Swett Rams

Often a first-year coach inherits a struggling program. That’s not the case at Purnell Swett (8-6 overall, 6-4 conference last season; 1-0 this season) as Kalen Eddings takes over a program that’s peaking, coming off back-to-back playoff appearances after a decade-plus struggle.

“That’s part of the reason why I was so intrigued to take the job,” Eddings said. “To be able to come in and still these girls have so much they can do better — that’s encouraging to them and to us.”

Junior guard Kylie Chavis missed most of last season with injury after winning Sandhills Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a freshman, and returns to the lead the Rams this winter.

“Kylie’s just a beast,” Eddings said. “She just loves basketball. She does everything for us. She does such a good job of attacking and getting under the ball. It’s just a blessing to have kind of a me out there on the floor.”

There’s plenty of pieces around Chavis, including returners — guards Natalie Evington and Nyla Mitchell and posts Chloe Locklear and Josey Locklear — and newcomers — guards Alexis Locklear and Ginger Warriax and post Karis Hunt.

“It’s just a very balanced team offensively,” Eddings said. “That opens up for us some things that we can do offensively. I love defense, but I love offense and our package is pretty thick because of the versatility of these girls.”

Red Springs Red Devils

Red Springs (3-7 overall, 2-5 conference last season; 0-1 this season) will look to improve in its second season under coach William Judd, something Judd says will start with the fundamentals.

“We’ve got to run the plays, we’ve got to work on the small things,” Judd said. “We’ve got people that act like they don’t know their role; we’ve got to know our role on the team and do a better job of supporting each other. We’ve got to have each other’s back. Once we get some of these things we’ll start seeing progress as the season rolls along.”

Guard Brooke Wilkins and forward Amyah Farrington will lead the way.

“(Wilkins is) trying to do stuff on the fly — which is good, we need a guard that can go on the move — but you’ve got to be on the same page as somebody before you make a decision with them,” Judd said. “(Farrington’s) got to be much more aggressive on the rebounding, she’s got to be much more aggressive playing period. Our leaders have to be more vocal, not just by talking but also showing it on the court.”

Freshmen forward Monica Washington and guards Nakira Hunt and Rilee Sampson will make an impact, now and moving forward, for the Red Devils.

“All three of those are ninth graders,” Judd said. “All three of those pieces — the future will be fine.”

St. Pauls Bulldogs

Mike Moses has never coached a St. Pauls team that didn’t have T.J. Eichelberger on it — until this season. The four-year star graduated, though she leaves behind a Bulldogs team that’s still a state championship contender.

“We came in at the same time, so it’s definitely different for her not to be here,” Moses said.

Last season, the Bulldogs (13-0 overall, 8-0 conference last season; 1-0 this season) finished undefeated, but was forced out of the state playoffs due to COVID-19 protocols before the second round.

“People that didn’t experience how last season ended don’t have any idea how much of a sense of ‘let’s get back there’ these girls have,” Moses said.

Jakieya Thompson, the reigning Robeson County Player of the Year, and Jashontae Harris return in the backcourt with twins Taliya and Tamyra Council in the frontcourt.

“(Tamyra’s) stepping into a role of being more of a focal point of our offense in the paint,” Moses said. “We’re looking for her to score a lot more than we have in the past, and she can handle that. And Taliya as well, just getting more offense from them.”

Key newcomers include Trinity Christian transfers AuNyah Teague, who will start at forward, and Aniyah Easterling, a guard. “Quick” guard Saniya Baldwin and “long” forward Julianna Bell, along with freshman forward Jada McCrimmon, will play roles off the bench.

The Bulldogs opened with a 54-37 win over Franklinton Friday.