After having forgettable seasons in basketball in 2008-2009, Calistoga High coaches Jack McMahon (boys) and Genna Welsh (girls) each anticipate improvement this season.

The question is, how much forward momentum is a realistic expectation?

The girls went 6-15 last season while the boys were 5-17. The girls host St. Helena tonight at 7:30 p.m., while the boys are idle until the Sutter Home Invitational at St. Helena on Thursday, Dec. 3.

Calistoga does not field a wrestling team.

Here’s a closer look at each of the Wildcats’ basketball squads:

Girls Basketball

The Wildcats face a daunting non-league schedule including St. Helena, a team that went 23-3 last season and returns virtually all of its key ingredients.

Calistoga will also face a St. Vincent (Petaluma) team that had a 6-21 record last season but typically fields a strong team. In addition, the Wildcats will participate in the San Dominico Tournament, an event in which Welsh expects to be facing strong competition. 

Calistoga will host the annual Gene Duffy Holiday Classic Dec. 9-12.

Calistoga has nine players on its roster, with the returners being Megan Hunt, Laurel Oekter-Kast, Nicole Taylor, Jenna Reynolds, Sigrid Tristan and Rosa DeJesus.

Hunt was an All-North Central League II and All-Napa County selection as she averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding last winter.

The key for the Wildcats, however, is staying healthy, as Oekter-Kast missed a good chunk of the season with injury.

Welsh anticipates Michelle Ramirez and Claudia Aceves, both of whom were key contributors on the Calistoga JV club last season, to play key roles.

Boys Basketball

Travis King is the lone returning player for the Calistoga boys, who are looking to replace three seniors that were All-League and All-County choices (Granville Fox, Zach Smith and Ian Scerri-Martin).

The good news for McMahon is that he has a good roster size in the form of 10 players, including King, Ave Mabitazan, Oscar Cuenca, Cristian Marin, Lincoln Fox, Gary Lopez, Vince Venegas, Ricky Tejeda, Scott Skinner and Justin Fernandez.

Tejeda, Lopez, Fox and Venegas were viable contributors on last season’s Calistoga JV team.

The Wildcats will be lacking height as nary a player stands over 6 feet, with Lopez being the tallest player at 5-11.

To that end, McMahon will put a greater precedence on trapping on the perimeter to generate steals that lead to fast break points.

McMahon believes that he has the personnel that have the desire to play defense, which could help the Wildcats’ cause.

Calistoga will host the annual Gene Duffy Holiday Classic Dec. 9-12.