With the winter sports season just starting up, the Kingswood Oxford girls varsity basketball team is primed and ready to go. Junior Co-captain and guard Liv Stevens is no exception. This season will be Stevens’s third year as a member of the varsity basketball team, but she has been playing basketball for much longer than that.
Stevens started playing basketball in elementary school after drawing inspiration from her older sister who also played basketball. “I kind of just wanted to be like my sister,” said Stevens. She first played on an AAU basketball team, a high-level travel team, when she was in third grade. However, instead of being on a team with other players her age, Stevens’s talent allowed her to play on a fifth-grade team.
Ever since then, Stevens has fallen in love with the sport. “I love the joy that basketball brings me, and it’s just something that I’m passionate about and something that makes me a better person,” she said. Stevens also acknowledges that her confidence has grown exponentially since she started playing, which not only helps her as a player but also as a person. Furthermore, basketball has taught Stevens the importance of hard work and dedication in order to achieve her goals and become a better player.
Even her coaches have noticed her hard work and love for the sport. “She is dedicated to the sport of basketball, works on her game year-round, and has developed a good relationship with her teammates,” said girls varsity basketball Head Coach Quinn O’Brien.
Junior guard Ashley Buckingham has enjoyed playing with Liv for the past three years. “Liv is a great teammate and she pushes all of us to be better,” she said. “She always has a positive attitude and supports her teammates.”
During her time playing basketball for KO, Stevens has achieved many great accomplishments. Last year she received the MVP award at the Kingswood Oxford Invitational Tournament for the girls’ division. Additionally, during her sophomore year, Stevens was selected as a member of the NEPSAC All-Star team. This is a great honor since only a select number of players across all the New England private schools are chosen for this All-Star team. Furthermore, according to Coach O’Brien, Stevens led the team last year in points, assists, and steals per game as only a sophomore.
This season, Stevens is hoping she can help lead her team to a winning record. “Last year was the first year we went .500 in 10 years, and I’m hoping we can beat that record this year,” said Stevens regarding her goals for the season.
In order to achieve this goal, the whole team will need to put in the work, but Coach O’Brien believes that Stevens can help lead the team in achieving this goal. “We will need to be consistent in our habits every single day,” Coach O’Brien said, “and I believe Liv, along with the other juniors on the team, will help us in that important role.”
