Coach Tom Ostrander knows if his Bonney Lake High girls are to reach the state basketball tournament, they’ll have to take one game at a time.

After going 2-3 in the Class 3A playoffs and winding up just one win away from state, Ostrander welcomes back a host of players from last year’s 18-7 squad.

“We lost just two seniors last year and have a good core group back,” he said.

Ostrander has senior guard Marcel Pounds returning for her final season.

The 5-foot-8 Pounds led the South Puget Sound League 3A in scoring, averaging nearly 20 points per game. Last season, she set a school and league record with most 3-pointers in a game (six) and most during the season (43). She hit 31 percent of her shots from 3-point range and also averaged five rebounds per contest.

The Panthers will look to senior guard Rochelle Murray (9 ppg), 5-11 junior post Rani Wiegand (7 ppg) and 5-5 senior guard Brittany Kennedy (6 ppg) to contribute offensively.

Kennedy shot 37 percent from behind the 3-point line, while Murray hit 31 percent of her attempts.

“With Marcel and Brittany, we have an excellent outside shooting game,” Ostrander said.

Wiegand and 5-8 senior post/guard Tiara Killmer, who is recovering from a broken foot, will be key inside the paint on both ends of the floor. Wiegand had 115 rebounds and Killmer added 101.

Also returning for Bonney Lakes is 5-10 senior post Emily McCoy.

The Panthers will be without the services of senior 5-8 post Natosha Lyonais, the Panthers’ leading rebounder last season with 177 boards. Lyonais injured her knee and will miss the season.

“That will hurt us and it’s a hole we’ll have to fill,” Ostrander said.

Naomi Pounds, a 5-8 sophomore and younger sister of Marcel Pounds, will see action at guard or post, along with Hannah Messner, a 5-5 junior guard.

With the Panthers’ depth, Ostrander said he should be able to rotate eight or nine players.

Ostrander said his players have been working on improving their defense.

“I told the girls this summer we have to get better defensively,” he said. “We want to dedicate ourselves to becoming a good defensive team.”

Defensively, Murray led last year’s team with 59 steals and Pounds recorded 53.

Bonney Lake will have to contend with White River, Auburn Mountainview and the remainder of the South Puget Sound League 3A.

“Our league is one of the best in the state,” Ostrander said. “We have a lot of good teams including Sumner, Peninsula and Lakes.

“I’ve been stressing to the girls, just because we almost went to state last year and return most of our team, nothing is going to be handed to us.”

Bonney Lake opened the season at home Tuesday against North Thurston and will hit the road Friday to face Enumclaw in league action.