After a brilliant 2016-17 campaign that saw Eastchester’s girls come within a breath of a Class A title, the Eagles will be back on the court this week looking to go just a step further. And with a talented core of veteran players returning, it isn’t unreasonable to think that a sectional crown could be in the cards.

Last season, the Eagles pulled off an impressive postseason run as a No. 5 seed, before falling 49-48 to No. 2 Somers at the Westchester County Center. According to Eastchester coach Lindsay Farley, the squad’s returning players are eager to prove that last year’s surge was no fluke.

“Obviously we ended on such a high note last year, it proved that it doesn’t matter what seed you are in the playoffs,” Farley said. “That motivates us going into this year, because it showed that if you play hard in the playoffs, anything is possible.”

The Eagles return five players from last year’s squad, including leading scorer Cassidy Mitchell, who notched her 1,000th career point last season. A prolific wing scorer, Mitchell should once again be the focal point of the Eagle offense, given her ability to score from anywhere on the court.

“[Mitchell] has grown tremendously, she’s always had a fantastic outside shot but she’s also been able to improve on driving to create scoring opportunities for her teammates,” Farley said of her senior standout.

Center Fiona Teahan will also be integral to the Eagles success this year, providing Eastchester with a dominant physical presence down low. Over the last several seasons, Teahan’s ability to mix it up under the basket has been a calling card for the Eagles, and her continued emergence as an offensive threat will give the team some more options this year.

“Fiona has been with me as long as Cassidy has, they’ve played the last four years together so they know what our focus is,” Farley said. “They can play such a good two-man game, which will be important for us.”

Despite two stars in the frontcourt, Eastchester will start the season without the services of returning point guard Ashley Anello. Anello suffered a torn ACL in the offseason and is currently eyeing a mid-season return, one that Farley hopes will come before the Eagles get into league play in January. In her absence, Farley will turn to a committee of younger players who she hopes will gain confidence from the experience of minutes early on in the season.

“We have a few young players looking to step into that role, and obviously there is going to be an adjustment coming from a position where you are used to having a strong floor leader,” she said. “But we want to push them so we know that they are comfortable handling the ball in these situations.”

The Eagles will officially kick off the season on Dec. 1, after press time when they play in the first round of the Eastchester Holiday Basketball Tournament, which will start a grueling stretch of December games that will see the squad take on top teams like Albertus Magnus and reigning Class A champion Somers.

“It’s going to prepare us for the playoffs, we face a lot of tough teams in and out of our league,” Farley said. “We are just hoping that all of this competition is going to help to get us ready.”