When the Webbers Falls Lady Warriors started their season Tuesday night at Arkoma, there was a new coach on the bench.

Garren Weatherton was hired this past summer to be the new Lady Warriors’ coach, and she is anxious to get the ball rolling — as in basketball rolling.

“I’m really excited,” Weatherton said. “We have a good group of girls. We’re just excited to get the ball rolling.”

Weatherton said two big factors led her to want to be a candidate for the job. The first is the Webbers Falls girls basketball program’s tradition.

“I was excited about being a part of something that had tradition — the tradition that Webbers Falls has,” she said. “So, I’m fortunate to be here.”

Another factor was on a more personal note as her newlywed husband Cade also applied for and was approved to be one of the Webbers Falls assistant football coaches.

“We’re excited to be able to work together,” Weatherton said. “That’s kind of a big thing for us. That was a factor, too.”

That’s why Tuesday night’s road season opener at Arkoma was rather unique for the new Webbers Falls girls basketball coach, playing her husband’s alma mater’s team — also her father-in-law Mark coaches the baseball and cross country teams and is an assistant football coach with the Mustangs, and it doesn’t stop there.

“My father-in-law is there, too, so that made things really exciting,” Weatherton said. “It was a little bit of family ties going on.”

The biggest thing Weatherton wants to see from her players is watching them “grow up” on the basketball court right before everyone’s eyes. “I feel like I have a lot of girls that have little experience,” she said. “A lot of it is letting them gain that experience. I’m really excited to see how the girls that haven’t had that experience in the past adapt to it.”

The new coach is anxious to see what this new season has in store.

“I’m very excited,” Weatherton said. It’s exciting times. I’m really excited about the year to come.”