By JIM WHITING

For the Review

BHS girls basketball coach Penny Gienger is feeling good about the 2008-09 Spartans’ chances of returning to the state 3A state tournament this season.

“I really like this team,” Gienger said. “We have some pretty talented kids coming back and we added some very athletic players. So I’m pretty excited.”

Losing just starting guard Emily Farrar and reserve forward Claire Thomas from last year’s team which went 19-9 and advanced to the state tournament for the first time in four years, Gienger’s optimism would seem to be amply justified. Particularly since one of the returnees is senior forward Brittany Gray, who is already the leading rebounder in Spartan history and barring injury will also become the school’s all-time top scorer early in the season.

Gray averaged nearly 19 points (scoring 20 or more in 14 games, with a high of 34 against Bishop Blanchet) and a dozen rebounds last year. She was named to the Associated Press 3A All-State Team, the all-Metro first team and earned Super 6 honors by several local newspapers. She has already signed with Gonzaga for next year.

The realignment of the Metro League should also help as the Spartans seek to return to the state tournament.

Because the Spartans finished third in the Mountain Division last year, the best seeding they could have had coming out of the Metro tournament was fifth, a fact that grated on Gienger. Her team not only had better league and overall records than the top two Sound Division teams, but also handily defeated them on three occasions.

With Franklin dropping down to the 3A ranks, Metro now has three divisions. The Spartans join Rainier Beach, Chief Sealth and West Seattle in the Sound Division. The Mountain Division will become an all-private school division with Blanchet, Eastside Catholic, Holy Names, Lakeside and Seattle Prep. The newly created Valley Division has Cleveland, Franklin, Nathan Hale and Ingraham. Teams play home-and-home games with the teams in their division and single games against the others.

To determine seeding for the Metro Tournament, teams in the Sound and Valley Divisions receive a point for each Metro win. Because Mountain Division teams play an extra league game, each of their wins receives .9375 points.

The three division winners qualify for the upper echelon of the Metro Tournament. They will be joined by the team among the non-division winners with the most total points. Those four teams compete for the top Metro seeds into the District 2 tournament.

“It’s more fair this way,” Gienger said.

A look at the district bracket demonstrates the importance of seeding. The top two Metro seeds receive a first-round bye and need only win their first game to insure a high seeding at state. Gienger felt that coming into the district tournament with a five seed last year was a contributing factor to Bainbridge emerging as the fourth and lowest seed out of district. That set up an opening-round matchup at the state tournament with eventual champion Auburn Riverside and a 78-21 defeat, one of the worst in team history.

Further easing the Spartans’ road to a successful Metro League season is that they don’t have to play the private school teams twice. In the past, Bainbridge has played 10 league games against the privates and six games with public schools. This year the situation is virtually reversed, with 10 games against the publics and five with privates.

A third factor in Gienger’s rosy outlook is the likelihood of correcting the team’s main shortcoming last year.

“We didn’t play good defense,” she said.

She sees that situation changing this year. “We have the ability to score and we’ll also hold other teams down a little so we can pick up some extra wins,” she explained.

Yet Gienger is also a realist. She knows that at some point the Spartans will have to beat the top private school teams in order to gain advantageous seeding in the Metro and district tournaments. She said both Holy Names and Lakeside are likely to have strong teams.

Gienger offered a rundown of the 10 players on the Spartan varsity this season.

While freshman Hannah Depew is currently hampered by a sprained ankle, she is one of the reasons why Gienger feels the team will be improved defensively. “She’s quick, aggressive and very athletic. She also has many offensive skills and isn’t afraid to score.” Along with sophomore Morgan Moniz, Depew is a leading candidate to replace Farrar at point guard.

Gray will be the center of attention this year. “On offense, the ball goes through her. If teams try to stop her, she’ll find other players. She’s a very good player, inside or outside.”

Sophomore center Micki Johns is “a good rebounder who will give Anna Wood a break. She’ll draw a lot of fouls and take up space in the key. I really expect her to come into her own this season.”

Kirsten Michael, another of the four returning starters, will play both point guard and two guard. One of Gienger’s goals for Michael is “to get her scoring, in double figures if possible. She has a variety of skills: passing to the post, taking the ball to the hole, and shooting outside.”

Moniz, a JV starter last year, will see a lot of action. Like Michael, she can play either guard position. “She’s not afraid to take the ball to the basket, and she’s solid defensively,” Gienger said.

After not playing basketball last year, sophomore forward Veronica Saez is emerging as an important defensive stopper. “She causes havoc. She’s quick and makes things happen. She’ll play a lot of defense on the other teams’ best player.”

Rebecca Sharar, who lettered last year, will back up Gray. “She’ll get some rebounds and play an important role inside.”

Junior Kas Totura, another letter winner, is known primarily for her ability to shoot three-pointers. “She has the ability to score from the outside,” the coach said.

Jesse Vincent, a returning starter at forward, “is a pure shooter. She also rebounds well and finishes plays for us. She’ll take some of the slack off Brittany.”

At 5-9, senior post Anna Wood, the team’s fourth returning starter, is short for the position “but she’s good,” Gienger said. “She powers through and will make a lot of three-point plays. She and Brittany work well together in the high-low post.”

The girls open play on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at Olympic. They make their home debut on Wednesday, Dec. 10 against Eastside Catholic. The Spartans host Holy Names on Friday, Dec. 19 in what could be their first big game of the season.