The Loyd Star Hornets and Lady Hornets expect to have a productive year as they prepare for the 2012-13-basketball season.

     Loyd Star debuts Saturday, in the Enterprise Classic. The girls battle Salem at 1 p.m. The boys tangle with Franklin County at 2:30.

Lady Hornets Rebuild

     Head coach Billy Vaughn has a young team this year. Vaughn does not have any seniors or juniors on his team. His squad will consist of  6 sophomores and 8 freshmen.

     “We will be very young and have very little experience,” said Vaughn. “Our goal is to get better each day in practice and in each game.”

     The Lady Hornets finished 19-12 and 4-6 in district action last year. They were eliminated from the postseason in the opening round of the state playoffs by Taylorsville.

     Lost to graduation were starters Tyrisha Patterson, Courtney Watts and Melody Smith. Guard Maggie Redd won’t return to the team.

     Patterson was selected as a member of the 2012 DAILY LEADER’s All-Lincoln County Girls Dream Team for the third year in a row. She also signed a basketball scholarship to play for the Co-Lin Lady Wolves.

Hornets

     Loyd Star boys head coach Gene (Moochie) Britt hopes to be much improved from last year. The Hornets finished 9-13 on the season and had a 2-8 division record.

     Coach Britt will have 4 starters back: Terion Williams, Donavon Johnson, Hunter Hooge and Caleb Yarborough, back to help direct the team.

     Williams, a 6-1 senior guard, averaged 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds per game last season for the Hornets. He was also selected to the 2012 DAILY LEADER’s All-Lincoln County Dream Team.

     The Hornets will rely on their strong defense and shooting to make a run in district.

     Lost to graduation were starters Jarred Bullock and Holden Butler.