LAPLACE – The East St. John Lady Wildcat basketball team got their 2004-2005 season off to a solid start this year by winning three of four games.

Head coach Troy Giordano, who has a perfect record of winning eight consecutive district titles since he came to the LaPlace school, appears to have the makings of another playoff bound team.

But early in the season, the veteran coach is battling the injury bug to three of his starters.

“We’re missing Nakita Hutchinson, who just signed with Houston, along with two other starters Dana Mason and Kimijvan Anderson. Even though that is certainly going to keep us from playing our best right now, there is a bright side to it since I am getting to play a lot of young kids and get some good experience for them,” he said.

The Wildcats opened their season on Tuesday and beat St. Joseph’s, 57-28, then competed in the round robin Mandeville Tournament where they beat Fontainebleau, 48-42, downed Mandeville, 65-45, and then lost to Hammond, 68-64.

“Of the top eight kids we are playing right now, five of them are sophomores, so they are definitely getting some good experience right now,” Giordano noted. “This will help us in the long term, but for now I expect to take a few lumps, especially with some very tough games in the next two weeks.”

Hutchinson, one of the star players returning to the team, is expected back with the others in between four to six weeks. But that will still be in time for district play to begin.

“I think we could be dangerous by January or February, but how far we can go if we get in the playoffs is really up in the air,” the head caoch added.

Giordano will be trying to build on an impressive record at the school of winning the eight consecutive district titles, while playing in the state semi-finals three of the last four years.

In the season opener against St. Joe’s, the team had some balanced scoring as recent Bellhaven College signee Gaynelle Brown led the way with 15, then Randi Donald scored 10, Keyonna Nelson had nine, and Crystal Fleming and Leslie Forest both scored six.

Donald and Brown continued to have some big games in the Mandeville tournament as Donald scored 58 points in the three games, including 24 in the finale, while Brown was just as potent with 50 points in the three games, with a game-high 25 in the final contest.

Against Fontainebleau, Nelson added 12, while against Mandeville it was Fleming with 12 and Nelson with 11. Forest chipped in with 10 against Hammond.

The team will face some tough competition starting on Monday at the Pontchartrain Center when they compete in the “Battle on the Bayou.”