The Middle School Girls Basketball teams finished their season on Nov. 30th with a 7-5 record for the 8th Grade team and a 9-3 record for the 7th Grade team.
The 8th Grade team started out the season with a win, then a loss. They then went on to win five consecutive games. The 7th Grade team started out with a 0-2 record but then went on to win eight games along with their conference tournament.
At the beginning of the season the teams came up with several goals they wanted to accomplish: to develop skills, to be able to compete to win, and to have fun. To meet these goals the teams worked hard during both practices and games. “They are like sponges soaking up everything we try to teach them and learning everything they can to be better basketball players,” said head coach and Middle School English teacher Carrie Green.
The teams met for practice every day that they weren’t playing a game for about one and a half hours. Both Green and Assistant Coach Amber Highfill (First Grade Elementary teacher) expressed how the players worked very hard and always came ready to play. “We never had to tell them to start practice because they already had a ball in their hands,” stated Green.
Early in the season the teams practiced the basics. “We want our girls to learn fundamentals and be able to carry those skills over into games,” said Highfill. After the fundamentals were learned practice time was utilized to either prepare for a game or to work on teamwork.
As the season continued, both coaches saw tremendous improvement among the teams. According to Green, “We started the year learning a lot of new drills and plays and it was rusty at first, but by the end the girls all understood their roles and were able to apply the skills they learned in practice and in the games.”
Some key players on the 8th grade team are Mckenna Zanie, Isabel Bruner, and Claire Hollan. Green expressed how the 8th Graders were excellent role models for the 7th Grade players. According to Highfill, “They have a great team bond and work hard for one another.”
