Expect Ballard Memorial to name a new head coach sometime this week. The Lady Bombers' job figured to be an attractive one, with six of the top nine players returning, including two-time All-Purchase pick Abby Shelley, veteran Tiffani Hatley and a talented young backcourt of Brandi Jones and sisters Anna and Abby Denton.
Athletic director Kevin Estes has been fairly mum about the search to name his replacement, but there have been indications that one of Ballard's top choices is a retired coach that won more than 400 games in a 20-plus-year career in Tennessee.
Marshall County, of course, is open, as are Hickman County, Caldwell County and Livingston Central.
• Murray doesn't seem likely to repeat its 30-win dream season, thanks to a beefed-up schedule coach Rechelle Turner hopes will push her team to another sweep of First Region titles.
In December alone, Murray will play in Lexington Catholic's tournament, considered the state's best meet, and appear in a shootout at Martin Westview that matches up Kentucky and Tennessee squads. The Lady Tigers' opponent is Ensworth, a Nashville program that was 25-4 last season and won Tennessee's Class 2A private-school state championship.
Calloway County will also play in the event, taking on host Martin Westview, a perennial power that was 27-9 and reached the Class 2A semifinals.
Both squads also host tournaments around the Christmas holidays, and both will feature fine fields next season. Murray's Lady Tiger Classic consists of Murray and Ballard Memorial, as well as Fulton County and Tennessee entries Henry County (the defending champion) and Union City. The non-local contingent includes Clarksville Northeast, Grayson County and Clinton County.
Five of the participating teams — Murray, Ballard Memorial, Henry County, Clarksville Northeast and Grayson County — won at least 20 games last season.
Calloway will travel to Orlando over the Christmas break next year, and coach Scott Sivills' tournament is still looking to fill a couple of slots to go with the Lady Lakers, Henderson County, Graves County, Massac County and a pair of Tennessee squads, Covington and Clarksville Northwest.
Ballard's Lady Bomber Shootout will cut back from 16 teams to eight, but still maintains a solid field. The local entries are the Lady Bombers, Marshall County, Heath, Community Christian and Crittenden County. Lake County returns to the tournament after going 29-4 last season, and Dyersburg is traditionally strong in Tennessee. The eighth team is an unusual selection — Providence-St. Mel, a small Catholic school in Chicago.
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