The Central Lady Tigers will begin this new season, which will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at Warner since Tuesday night’s season opener at Vian was canceled due to the Wolverines being in Friday night’s Class 2A, Division II state football semifinals against Davis, with someone else new.

Former Atoka coach Jay Ray, along with assistant coaches Jaycie Ray and Tommy Gage, are all new as Ray replaces former coach Shane Brown, who took a coaching job at Keota.

The Lady Tigers were 20-7 a season ago and made it to the Class 2A Area Tournament consolation quarterfinals.

The Lady Tigers return eight players from a season ago, with two of those being seniors — Cambree Bair and Cheyenne Busch.

Bair, who was named as one of “VYPE” Magazine’s Top 100 High School Girls Basketball Players to Watch for this season, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark last season.

Other returning players are junior Paris Campbell and sophomores Charlie Petree, Alexxus Bolin, Zoey Lattimore, Sarah Buchanan and Alivia Meadows.

Newcomers to the team are senior Brianna Taylor and freshmen Sara Williams and Sadie Huff.

On Oct. 25, several of the basketball team members — Bair, Campbell, Williams and Huff — were part of the Lady Tigers cross country team that went to the Class 2A State Meet for the first time as an entire squad in about two decades. The Lady Tigers were sixth as a team, and Williams earned Oklahoma Cross Country and Track Coaches Association (OCCTCA) All-Star status as an underclassmen finishing in the top 15 as she was 10th.

Ray said that he believes Bair and Williams will be a nice 1-2 punch for the Lady Tigers in his inaugural season as coach.

The Lady Tigers will be a road team for the first month of the season while their gym gets finished being renovated. The gym is expected to be ready for home games beginning in January.