After going through a 5-13 campaign last basketball season, the Gore Lady Pirates are looking for better and bigger things this season.

The Lady Pirates return three starters from last season — senior guard Oaklei Thornton (five points, two rebounds per game last season), senior forward Natalie Casteel (four, three) and sophomore guard Emily Daily (five, three).

Besides Thornton and Casteel, Paige Curran, Tristen Colbert, Andi Summerlin and Kaitlyn Byrne are seniors as well.

Rounding out the roster are juniors Ricki Huckbay and Lily Wooten, sophomores Rayleigh Moore, Gracie Bruce and Kennedy Williams (who will be out all season after tearing her ACL) and freshmen Keira Rowe and River Shoemake.

“We will be competitive overall,” said Gore girls coach Staci Simeroth, who is beginning her third year at the helm. “We are starting to shoot well and be more aggressive with the ball on offense. We’re going to be a diamond in the rough. The girls have something to prove.”

Simeroth said that a big strength for her team is mental toughness.

“We are tougher with the ball, and we are looking for the open players,” she said.

However, grabbing rebounds could be something of a weakness, at least early on this season.

“We don’t rebound well,” Simeroth said.

The Lady Pirates opened their season Tuesday night at Porum.