While she may be in a new role, Jessica Lenihan is no stranger to the Greencastle girl's basketball team. 

The former assistant has moved a little further down on the bench and will take over the reigns for the Tiger Cubs, inheriting a team that went 23-5 and fell to Forest Park in the Class 2A semi-state. 

"The transition has overall been pretty smooth. Having coach Greenlee around for any questions has been a big help and made the transition easier. I think it’s been a tremendous help already being familiar with the program and the players. In practice we have been able to just pick up where we left off the last few years. There’s no awkward period of the players needing to get to know me or vice versa," Lenihan told The Putnam County Post. 

According to Lenihan, the Tiger Cubs had a "very productive offseason," participating in the South Putnam Summer League. 

Lenihan said the experience allowed Greencastle to see what it had for the first time as a new group without its top two scoring seniors.  

"Our emphasis has been simple, play hard and empty the tank every game. We are going to be a defensive minded team who will out work and out hustle other teams to pull out wins," Lenihan said.

When she looks back on last season, Lenihan admits it was an "amazing run," as Greencastle achieved things it had not done in a long time. However, she is quick to acknowledge this year will be different.  

"We have to understand as a team and a program that this year will be much different. We lost over 47 points a game in scoring so this year we are going to have to have some players step up and look to score more than they have in the past few years. The goal every year is to win the County and the Conference championship. This team can do that if we execute and play our game," Lenihan said. 

Greencastle brings back three seniors in Evelyn Briones, Madi Plew and Aleeyah Johnson, who will be counted on to step up as leaders. 

"Evelyn was the 3rd option last year on a really good team averaging 10-12 points a game, this year she will be asked to be a top scoring option and we know that she can do it. We have to find ways to get her open shots and she will knock them down," Lenihen said.

The first year coach said she will look to Plew to score more, as she averaged two to four points a season ago. 

"Madi has really worked hard on her shot and we have seen it pay off in the offseason. Madi will be playing the 4 and 5 this year and we expect her to take advantage of her size and be dominant on the boards. She should lead this team in rebounding," she said.

As for Johnson, Lenihan said she is "really excited to see Aleeyah back this year and see her step up in a more prominent role." 

"The common theme here is replacing that scoring that we lost last year. We are looking for Aleeyah to be another player to do that. She is going to need to look for her shot a lot more than she has in the past. Aleeyah plays really hard on both sides of the ball, I never have to question her work ethic," Lenihen said. 

In addition, Greencastle will look to junior guard Ali Dobbs and sophomore forward Bailey Brown to also play big roles. 

"Ali is super athletic and works very hard on the defensive end. This year we will need that aggressiveness not only on the defensive side of the ball but the offensive. We are asking Ali to handle the ball a little more this year and of course look to score. She has been working on her shot this offseason and we are excited to see what she can improve on. I believe Bailey will be one of the girls that takes the biggest leap this year from last year. Bailey has worked really hard over the summer and is ready to take on a much larger role as a scorer for this team. She will be a big focal point in this offense. We will look to get her the ball down low and let her look to score a lot this year," Lenihen said. 

A season ago, Greencastle averaged 59.2 points per game, something Lenihen said won't happen this year, but that doesn't mean her squad won't compete and be ready. 

"This team will most likely not put up the type of scoring we had last year but what you will see is a team that is going to work their tails off and is never going to quit. This team has some potential to be really good. It will all depend on who steps up to take on those larger roles that we are asking of them. If we can get the girls to buy in we will have a really successful season. I’m excited to get started and see what this great group of girls can do," Lenihen said.