The Fair Grove High School Girls Basketball Team has officially started their 2025-2026 season with many practices, and are preparing for up-and-coming games.
Quincy Williams, a senior player, explained how their practices usually go, “Usually a typical practice for our team includes getting after it in some shooting and defensive drills, and then ending with conditioning.”
Allison Sechler, a junior player, added, “We definitely do lots of drills to push ourselves. In the first few weeks we mostly do running workouts to get us in shape for our first games. As we progress in the season, we focus on our plays and more skill work.”
The team has a shortage of players this year, due to injuries. Sechler stated, “This year our team so far is struggling with our height and the amount of players we have. Currently, we have six fully healthy players. But, we are not giving up.”
While the shortage of players causes struggle, Sechler explained how they push through, “A strength we do have is ball handling. We are guard-heavy and are able to handle the ball well under pressure.”
The team also has different goals they aim to reach. Williams stated, “Our team needs to be focused on getting better each practice and each game. As of now that is our main goal, just improving with each chance we get.”
She went on, “If we stay focused in practice and continue to work hard I know we will be able to compete and hold our own against teams that do have numbers and experience.”
Sechler also explained, “This season, our team goals have changed quite a bit from last year. This season will be particularly tough with the amount of hurt players and the amount of underclassmen on the team.”
She continued, “One of our biggest goals is definitely to try our hardest and not give up. There is a big target on our back from the past three years, so we will use that as motivation to push ourselves to our limits.”
Being a senior, Williams has played basketball for a while. She expressed her appreciation for it, “My favorite thing about basketball is getting to compete alongside my friends against challenging teams that push our skills.”
Sechler appreciates basketball for the team aspect as well. “My favorite thing about basketball is the team,” she said, “Especially when we are in a tight game and we are playing really well, we are always there to build each other up. We are always pushing each other to be the best version of ourselves.”
The Fair Grove Lady Eagles next home game will be December 2nd, against Branson in the Fair Grove Invitational Tournament.
