Five players on the court. Nine girls on the bench. Together, one team. According to sophomore Ava Wilson, teamwork was a key difference that led to the girl’s basketball team’s success this season.
“I think we’re on the same page more than we were last year,” Wilson said. “We have better energy, a better attitude, and more intensity during games.”
This has been Wilson’s second year getting varsity minutes.
“I wanted to do more for the team,” Wilson said. “I’d come off the bench so I just wanted to add more. Defensively get steals, increase my stats, just have a higher, more important role for the team.”
Sophomore Kaylie Harmon shared Wilson’s fervor to add to the game.
“A personal accomplishment I am proud of is my assists from last year to this year,” Harmon said. “This year I am able to find my teammates a lot better and get them in situations where they can score the ball.”
Harmon led the team in assists this season, averaging 3.1 per game.
“I think at the beginning of our season we were a little questionable and didn’t know how to play with each other, but we quickly found each other’s strengths and worked hard to play well together,” Harmon said.
Similarly, senior Sydney Johnson was unsure of how the season would go at the beginning.
“I feel like this season we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I think that we’re playing more together, especially these past few weeks, and I think that we’ve had to play more together,” Johnson said.
Junior Kenna Conrad shared the idea that the team took time to really become a team.
“I feel like at the beginning of the year, we kind of struggled to work together as a team,” Conrad said. “At the beginning, you’re just trying to find a pecking order and then we kind of came together and now we play as a team and look out for each other.”
The girl’s basketball team placed second at conference.
“We all had better team chemistry,” Wilson said. “I think we enjoy being around each other more than we used to. We all get along better.”
With the season coming to a close, players began to change perspectives.
“I feel like I have a mental clock in my head,” Johnson said. “Every practice, every game, you’re just like counting down. It’s sad, and it just makes you want to work harder and play harder, because it’s almost over.”
Wilson spoke about how the dynamics of the team shifted throughout the season.
“We all had better team chemistry; I think we enjoy being around each other more than we used to,” Wilson said. “We all get along better, we’re all friends outside of basketball too.”
