After a 2021-2022 season that saw some success, the girls varsity basketball team is looking to build off it and carry some momentum into the 2022-2023 winter season.
Going into the season, Head Coach Quinn O’Brien described how the team doesn’t have any specific goals. “Assistant Coach Judy Bailey and I do not necessarily make a list of goals we wish to achieve every season, but rather a standard we hope to live up to every day,” Coach O’Brien said. “If we are able to get at least 1% better every single day together as a team, we will improve throughout the season, play our best basketball at the end of the season, and see where that takes us.”
Last season, the girls varsity basketball team went 11-12 and finished as the runner-up in the 2021 KITs. Coach O’Brien described how different the roster from last year will be compared to this year’s roster and how that may present a challenge for the team. “This is an important year for us for a variety of reasons. We had a strong season last year but we graduated five seniors and have no returning seniors on the roster,” he said. “We hope to build off the momentum of last year while establishing a new identity, specific to this year’s group, that will continue with us for the next two years.”
With five graduating seniors, there will be some large shoes to fill for the team. The roster is comprised of freshmen forward Ella Golino, guard Olivia Pilecki, and guard Samaria Gonzalez, sophomores guard Ella Wilson and forward Olivia Gallup, juniors guard Olivia Stevens, guard Aashni Patel, guard Georgia Louis, and guard Ashley Buckingham, and seventh-grader forward Madison Brillant, 10 total players currently. Coach O’Brien emphasized how the smaller roster will provide more opportunities for all the players. “Everyone on the roster has a chance to play a lot of minutes and be an impact player for us,” he said. “We have four returning juniors, who all have varsity experience and will have an opportunity to lead us this year and expand their roles from last year.”
Looking at the schedule ahead, the team has a few tough opponents scheduled, such as Choate Rosemary Hall, Williston Northampton School, and Wilbraham & Monson Academy. The schedule, however, doesn’t worry Coach O’Brien nor the team. “There are certainly games that will be harder to win than others, but we do not assume we will win or lose any game,” he said. “We do not get in the habit of looking forward to certain games and risk overlooking other games because we are capable of winning or losing every single game we play this year.”
Junior Ashley Buckingham is looking forward to the upcoming season. “I’m really excited for our season this year,” she said. “We have a great group of new players and we all work together really well.”
The team opened their season Wednesday, Nov. 30, against Taft School at home. Unfortunately, the team fell to a strong Taft team with a score of 63-34. The team rebounded nicely win a 43-41 thriller win against Williston Northamption School. The next two games are on Wednesday, Dec. 7 and Friday, December 9, against Bershire School and Choate Rosemary respectively. Good luck to the girls varsity basketball team for the season ahead!
After falling short in their game against Taft School, with a final score of 63-34, the team followed up with their first win against Williston Northhampton School. The team played a great game, with many defensive rebounds and stellar plays. With seconds left in the game, Patel stole the ball and quickly passed to Gonzalez who went in with a flawless layup to secure the victory.
