The Lady Bulldogs girls’ basketball team will have a different look this season.

The King’s Fork High School girls’ basketball team is coming off of a five-year run where the team was among the upper echelon in the state for girls’ basketball. Throughout those years, the Lady Bulldogs have made a multitude of appearances in the state tournament and have won conference championships and earned runner-up accolades in the region. There have been some premier players coming through the Lady Bulldogs program who have gone on to play college basketball at the highest levels.

This year, the Lady Bulldogs will have somewhat of a different look. They are a young team this season with only one senior on the roster. Many may consider King’s Fork to be in a rebuild, but Coach Maurice Fofana doesn’t see it that way. With some talented returners mixed in with some young talent moved up from the JV level and some transfers, the Lady Bulldogs are hoping to remain in the mix of the top teams in Hampton Roads.

“I really like the group I have,” Fofana said. “It is one of the younger teams I have had, and I’m excited about it. We have one senior, but it’s going to be good watching this team grow. We have a different team here, so we don’t feel like it’s necessarily a rebuild.”

Fofana mentioned that even with a younger group, the approach stays the same. Fofana expects all of the returners from last year to take another step in their development. King’s Fork has added Ashlee Robertson and Yasmine Brown, formerly of Nansemond River High School and Indian River High School, who should come in and provide a boost for the Lady Bulldogs.

“Regardless of who we have, our expectations stay the same,” Fofana said. “We always want to play hard and do our job. Those are our main things we kind of focus on.”

The Lady Bulldogs will continue to have a strong schedule. They will to Washington, D.C., for non-conference contests as well as participate in the Boo Williams Holiday Tournament, which is always filled with strong competition. Fofana knows it will be important for the Lady Bulldogs not to focus on what people are saying about them as a team as they face challenges.

“That’s our main thing,” Fofana said. “We didn’t have anything to prove to anyone. We are going to keep working, and we can see ourselves in January or February starting to get things rolling as we continue to build.”