Triton sophomore Nicole Sechrist will be a big part of Triton’s makeup this season. (File photo by Nick Goralczyk)

BOURBON – As if replacing one of the all-time leading scorers wasn’t enough.

Triton enters the 2015-16 girls basketball season in a pickle that 63 other schools around the state are facing and will have to navigate. So long as the current IHSAA structure is in place to push the girls basketball season up a week, accommodating the boys basketball sectional will mean the carryover of potential fall athletes to girls basketball will cause some problems. Triton is no different after its volleyball team made a regional run this year.

Coach Adam Heckaman, entering his eighth year as Triton boss, is facing quite a dilemma. With over half his projected varsity roster needing to get in the required practices, Heckaman will have to scramble to get a roster ready for the season opener Friday at  John Glenn.

“Our volleyball team just finished playing, so I don’t really even have any of my varsity girls yet for practice,” Heckaman said.

It’s a nice problem to have for fall sports success factors, but moving up the schedule means younger kids will get a look much sooner than expected. Heckaman will have to also manage the loss of five senior starters, including Kylie Mason, who finished as one of the top-five scorers in program history. But also losing Becca Kennedy, Krystal Sellers, Lauren Hostrawser and Hannah Jennings took with them 76 percent of the team’s scoring from last year.

The dilemma will be the volleyball players had most of the returning varsity experience on the basketball court. Senior Jaela Meister is the leading returner in scoring (8.2 points per game) and sophomore Nicole Sechrist is the only other returner with a varsity start, getting three nods last year. Sophomore Hannah Wanemacher and junior Quinn Downing both have over a dozen appearances in varsity games, but all four played volleyball and will need time to transition. Only seniors Shayla May and Brooklyn Beatty, who combined for just 20 points and six rebounds in 16 games, are eligible right away.

“We had a class of six seniors a few years back, but we had several juniors and sophomores behind them,” stated Heckaman. “This is the first time we’ve had this many seniors graduate without a decent-sized group behind them. We only have three seniors and one junior this year, so we will be relying a lot on them to provide the leadership the sophomores will need.”

Heckaman noted the summer work of May, Beatty, Downing, Sechrist, Wanemacher and sophomore Charlotte Morris were all steps in the right direction. He’s expecting them to all to see considerably more minutes and roles this winter.

Triton finished its season 15-8 last year and is seeking its first sectional title since 2011. Mason finished with 300 points in her senior season and 1,176 points in her illustrious career.

Triton is scheduled to open its home calendar Tuesday, Nov. 10, against Argos in the ‘Hoops For Hope’ game, earmarked to help those stricken with cancer in Marshall County.

“As it goes every year, you always have to look for your next group to step up,” Heckaman said. “This year, we will just need more people to step up to fill the holes left by our seniors last year. I think we have several kids ready to step into those spots to compete.”