Stephen Lenz is entering his 25th season as head coach of the Barrington High School girls basketball team. And this season’s schedule might be the toughest yet. 

Lenz said his team will face some talented competition — the Eagles opened with a 50-41 loss to North Kingstown on Sunday, and will host the defending state champs Ponaganset on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Barrington then travels to Bay View on Friday, Dec. 16. The Eagles also play a number of tough non-league games. 

“The schedule is a beast,” Lenz said. “Our first eight games are brutal.

“The ultimate goal is to be ready in March… battle-tested.”

Coach Lenz said his team will be challenged each and every night, but he believes his squad will be up to the challenge. 

“We look good. We’ve got a good group of kids coming back,” he said. “We have a little more experience. We have some very good pieces to put together.”

Lenz said Lindsay Lemay returns after missing last season with an injury. Lemay was a solid contributor before suffering the injury.

“She had a dominant season (as a freshman),” Lenz said. “She’s worked tremendously hard.”

Barrington also returns Maddie Gill at the guard position.

“Maddie is a very good shooter,” Lenz said of the junior. 

The Eagles also take the floor with Janaya Prince-Baquero, a transfer from Cranston who is expected to see plenty of time at the guard position. 

Lenz said he is expecting Isys Dunphy to continue as a key contributor for the Eagles. Other key members of the team are Chloe Rouleau, a four-year varsity player, Olivia Morrisette, Emma Johnson, Riley Graveline, Julia Daniello, Eleanor Donato, Lauren Kilpatrick and Kimia Beers.

“We’ve spent a lot of time playing together,” Lenz said. “We played a lot over the summer. By the end of the summer, we were playing pretty well.”

Lenz said his team will need to focus on its defense this season, in order to compete in a challenging subdivision that includes Ponaganset, Bay View, Classical and Rogers. 

“We have a lot of flexibility in terms of lineups,” Lenz said. “The biggest thing for us is defensively we need to be consistent.”