Southampton - Southampton girls basketball coach Richard "Juni" Wingfield knew that it would be a process, probably a long one. Basketball programs aren't built overnight and especially not when his Lady Mariners were starting right around square one. They were young, real young, and inexperienced at the varsity level.

That was then. Many bumps and bruises later, Wingfield's crew has its bearings. They have a game plan. They've been in these situations before and finished games off before. Although Southampton is still a distance from hoisting the county championship trophy, it's on the right path. For so long, the Lady Mariners have talked about their future, but heading into Friday's match-up with Wyandanch, they're right in the thick of the hunt for a playoff spot already.

Kesi Goree has hit for as many as 20 points in this her third season playing at the varsity level.

"I'm more than happy with where we're at," he said. "We're not where we want to be, but we're not where we were before."

Sitting at 6-4 overall and 1-1 in a brutally difficult League VII, the Lady Mariners are light years ahead of where they were two years ago when they took the court 18 times and came up on the short end on each occasion, albeit by the slimmest of margins on a few occasions. Nicole and Leandra McGuinness, then seventh grader Kesi Goree, and this year's only senior, Miranda Alvarado, all played significant minutes despite their relative inexperience. Last year, Leah Eleazer and the aforementioned quartet battled their way to three victories, winning not with unparalleled firepower but with guts and tough on-the-ball defense. It's still what keys Southampton today.

"Even if we're not hot shooting the ball, we just play hard and get better in the process," Wingfield said. "If we can just continue to do that, our time will come. I think in time we'll have more consistent scorers, but until then, we'll keep in mind that the only constant in this game is defense."

Goree, the most formidable post presence on the eight-player roster, has upped her play with the help of Hampton Bays head coach Pat McGunnigle as well as Jerry Powell of Basketball Results. She scored a career-high 20 points in a season-opening loss to Connetquot and followed up with 17 more in a win at Westhampton. Because of her talent and experience, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that she's still just 14 years old. As the years have gone by, Wingfield's made sure to ask Goree to take on more gradually rather than aggressively.

Cassidy Guida provides energy off the Lady Mariner bench.

Upon Eleazer's graduation, the majority of the ball handling duties were handed over to the McGuinness twins, whether they were ready or not. They've managed to run the Southampton offense while also creating scoring opportunities with suffocating defense, whether they're picking up the dribbler on the inbounds or near midcourt.

"What they do is bring that energy," Wingfield said. "You have to have someone create that energy. They play all-out and with tremendous heart. If you hear that screech on the floor and they don't leave a pound of flesh, they haven't done their job."

Southampton started the season by winning three of its first four, knocking off Pierson, Southold and Westhampton in succession by an average of 12.7 points. Wingfield set the games up knowing that the Lady Mariners could compete with the teams in their neighborhood but could get hit with a loss with anything shy of 100 percent effort.

They'll have nights like Tuesday when match-ups against a highly skilled Center Moriches squad when shots aren't falling and points off turnovers, on which the Lady Mariners rely, are at a premium. The final score - 44-18 in favor of the Lady Red Devils - is a reminder that, despite the early success, there's still room to improve.

"When you have three of the best small schools in our league, we can't be talking about winning the Suffolk County crown," Wingfield said, "but what we have been able to do is watch our young ones grow."