The Reed High girls basketball team has been a traditional Nevada state power over the past 20 years. Raiders coach Sara Schopper doesn’t expect her 2009-2010 squad to deviate from that trend.

Reed has finished no worse than first or second in the High Desert League in each of the past seven seasons and has played in the Northern 4A title game in every year since 2004. The RHS club returns plenty of talent for the upcoming fall campaign.

“I think this team has the makings of being great,” said Schopper, who is entering her fifth season at the helm of the Raiders’ program. “We have some challenging games ahead of us, but this team is going to dominate the boards, play hard defensively and get every loose ball. When you play like that, good things will happen offensively.”

The Reed girls are the first local prep hoop team to tip off their season. The Raiders play a game against an RHS alumni team Friday night and then go to Bishop Manogue for a non-league affair Saturday. Both games begin at 5 p.m.

“The girls have been working hard and getting after it through this first week or so of practice,” Schopper said. “I like the atmosphere around this team. The girls show up and they’re ready to play basketball. Their enthusiasm to make themselves better makes it fun for a coach.”

So with less than two weeks of practice under their belts, are the Raiders ready to suit up and play a game?

“This is the first time I’ve ever taken advantage of that first possible day to play,” Schopper said. “I do not feel like it is enough time. I’ve been throwing all the offense and all the defense at them the last few days. I don’t know if it’s sunk in. We’ll see in a few days.

“But it could be a good thing. I’m excited about seeing how we do this weekend. Then we’ll have a couple days to review what we did well and what we didn’t. And we’ll have a couple days to get ready for Galena (Dec. 4). I think it will work out.”

Reed returns one of the top players in the state in Danielle Peacon. The talented 6-foot 3-inch senior post signed her national letter of intent to compete on the college basketball hardwood at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. Peacon has been a first-team High Desert League honoree in each of the past two seasons.

“For a big post player, Danielle moves so well,” Schopper said. “She gets up and down the floor because she is so athletic. She has the ability to jump and she sees the floor. She can get a rebound, outlet it, run the floor and get the ball back to score. That’s huge.

“Plus, she’s gaining leadership. She knows this year she needs to lead the team. She’s challenging teammates, but she’s a team player. She also knows when she needs to take over. I’m excited to see how she does this year, how teams guard her and how she improves.”

Reed did lose one piece that’s been vital to its recent success. Point guard Erica McKenzie, a four-year all-league player, who also signed to play at Pacific, graduated last summer. The Raiders have big shoes to fill in that role.

“Erica’s hard to replace but we have returners in Micah Walker, Nice Jackson and Lelani Young. Those three are going to help take over Erica’s spot,” Schopper said. “They will bring the ball up and we still have a few shooters. I like this team because the girls are all up for a challenge. I don’t think we’ll miss a beat. Erica did a good job teaching and leading these kids. At practice I see these kids stepping into new roles and I’m excited.”

With that said, Schopper still expects her team to have a learning curve when it comes to executing after losing a star point guard. The Raiders coach admits that she expects to see more turnovers than she’d like in the early going.

“We are young in a sense of basketball knowledge. I think we’ll turn the ball over a lot and not because we’re playing too fast or getting too excited. We just need to work on taking care of the basketball,” Schopper said. “It’s hard to say a lot right now because we haven’t played a game yet, but there will be some young mistakes … We’ll see how it goes, but that’s the biggest area we need to work on.”

In addition to Peacon, Walker, Jackson and Young, Reed also returns five other players from its varsity roster: Honour Knudsen, Joanna Phillips, Nyasha LeSure, Sierra Hooft and Brooke Silva. The Raiders have also brought in three varsity rookies for the new season: Makaela Moore, Stephanie Sanchez and Autumn Harry.