COURTNEY COLLINS 

Girls Basketball

Players work together under one senior’s leadership    

 

The girls basketball team was met with new challenges and opportunities this season with the loss of five players last year due to graduation. The girls had to come together and build a new team under the leadership of the upperclassmen.

    As the only senior, Kaitlyn Baird (12) lead the team, aiming to strengthen the camaraderie among new and old players and make it a memorable season.

    “My goals for this season were to just better some of the younger girls,” Baird said. “We came in with a lot of freshman and sophomores, so just to build them up and have them create chemistry with each other when I leave was most important to me.”

    The team gained more than 10 freshman this year. With this addition, preseason training was important so that they felt comfortable with the team and were ready to compete. Gabby Mathews (11) explained how the girls prepared for the season.

    “We worked a lot on defense and coming together, since we are really young,” Mathews said. “We had to work at coming close together since we all were new at coming together and playing together for the first time.”

    Each player made an effort to make the season successful, and Baird appreciated this aspect. Even though there were obstacles to overcome, the season was still rewarding.

    “It has its ups and downs, but I love being able to pick out what we’re going to wear on game days; I feel like it’s more than just deciding what we’re going to wear.” Baird said. “I love having the girls looking up to me and just being a role model for them. I feel like it’s really inspiring for me to know that they’re all looking up to me and that’s it; they don’t have anybody else to look up to.”

    Because of the lack of seniors, younger players took upon themselves leadership roles. They worked together to help Baird carry out leadership among the team.

    “My goals going into this season were to help make Kait’s senior season the best that it could be,” Mathews said. “I also wanted to make myself a better player for the greater good of the team as a whole.”

    Reflecting on the challenging season, Baird offered a piece of advice for next year’s team.

    “Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Even when times are tough, it doesn’t matter because time goes on and you can’t do anything to go back and win games that you lost, so just keep your heads up.”

    The girls basketball team overcame various obstacles this year, creating a bond among the players that led to a successful season. With guidance from the upperclassmen, various goals were met and an example of leadership was set for years to come.