GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: All the right pieces at Kentwood?

They were on the brink last year.

So close they could see the pinnacle.

Good. At times, even great.

But when the season ended, the Kentwood High girls basketball team still wasn’t where it wanted to be.

“We were pretty close,” forward Liz Mills said in regards to how far away the Conquerors were from repeating as the Class 4A state champions. “With the new coach, we had a lot of adjustments to make, things to buy into. We were close.”

How close?

Auburn Riverside knocked off Mead in the state championship game, 56-52. The Conquerors lost to the Ravens twice last year, once by three points and the second time by six. In addition, the Conquerors fell to Mead, 74-71.

The difference between Kentwood, which was eliminated after three games at state, and finalists Riverside and Mead?

An offensive run here, a defensive stop there. In the end, a mere few buckets.

This winter, the Conquerors plan on making up those few baskets that separated them from being one of the top two or three teams in the state. And they firmly believe they have the pieces in place to do so.

“This year, I think we are even closer,” said Mills, who averaged 11.7 points per game last season. “I see the same potential we had a couple years ago (when we won the state title). We have all the right pieces.”

Mills, a second-team all-leaguer last year, certainly is one of those pieces.

So is honorable mention forward Courtney Johnson, who averaged 11 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season. She hits the hardwood after her solid performance in the goal helped Kentwood win the Class 4A state girls soccer title last month.

But for the Conquerors, this year’s run starts at the top, led by 5-foot-1 point guard Kylie Huerta, the North’s co-MVP in 2009-10.

“I think we definitely have the talent,” said Huerta, who averaged a league-high 18.9 points per game last season.

No doubt, the Conquerors have reason for optimism. Kentwood graduated just one starter — sharpshooter Sanda Milovic, an All-SPSL second-teamer who averaged 13 points per game a year ago — and return everyone who logged significant minutes. In addition, the Conquerors will be in their second season under coach Dean Montzingo, who took over for Keith Hennig last year.

The necessary adjustments required when shifting from one coach to another now have been made.

Put another way, the Conks are ready to make a run.

That said, Montzingo isn’t getting ahead of himself just yet.

“Our goal is to get positioned well for the playoffs,” he said. “Our goal is to finish in the top spot in league, get into district. Once you hit the final 16 (teams in state), anything can happen.”

Part of what bit the Conquerors last season was depth. Kentwood used a primary rotation of six players that included, among others, Huerta, Johnson, Mills, Milovic, Maddison Rankin and Megan Wynne. Huerta seldom left the court and, often times, played from tip-off to the final buzzer at a break-neck pace.

This year, unlike past seasons, Kentwood will be developing its bench so by season’s end, the starters can get a needed breather from time to time.

“We definitely have more depth,” Montzingo said. “That’s one of the things that could help us, especially later in the season. There are some talented freshmen girls here.”

One of those freshmen is multi-sport standout Sarah Toeaina, who played on Kentwood’s volleyball team that advanced to state. A 5-foot-9-guard, Toeaina scored six points in Kentwood’s 79-40 season-opening blowout of Kentlake. Toeaina is expected to see considerable minutes this winter.

“We will be able to use her anywhere,” Huerta said of Toeaina’s versatility.

Depth throughout, however, will be the key.

“We have a strong set of 12,” Mills said.

And it’s that strong set of 12 that ultimately could propel Kentwood from being close last year to over the top come early March.

CONQUERORS: AT A GLANCE

• COACH: Dean Montzingo, 2nd year.

• LAST YEAR: 23-7, second in league, state participant.

• TOP RETURNERS: Kylie Huerta, sr., guard; Liz Mills, sr., forward; Courtney Johnson, sr., forward; Maddison Rankin, jr., guard; Megan Wynne, sr., guard.

• TOP NEWCOMERS: Sarah Toeaina, fr., guard.

• STATE HISTORY: Kentwood has advanced to state in each of the last five years, won the title in 2009 and took third in 2007.

• OUTLOOK: The sky is the limit for this bunch. Defending state champion Auburn Riverside was the pick among coaches in the preseason poll, but it wasn’t by much. Though KW will feel the loss of now-graduated Sanda Milovic — especially her hot hand from the outside — there’s enough talent and depth here to make a deep run at the state tournament. If Huerta can duplicate last year’s performance while Mills and Johnson continue their ascension, there’s no reason the Conquerors can’t play for another title.