The girls basketball team began the season 16-9 overall and finished second in Region 4-AAAA at 11-3. The Knights now look to the region tournament, hoping to perform in the region tournament. Junior co-captain Journey Bryant said she has faith in the team’s capabilities to finish strong in the region tournament.
“I feel strongly about our chances at doing well in the region tournament,” Bryant said. “There’s a lot of tough competition, but we’ve come a long way as a team, and I’m confident we can perform well.”
New head coach Shawnta Pope noticed the team’s progress and believes collaboration skills have played a large part in the team’s overall success so far this season.
“At the midpoint of the season, I’m encouraged by how much we’ve matured,” Pope said. “We relied on talent and now we’re relying on preparation, communication and trusting in one another.”
After region play concludes, teams participate in the region tournament that determines playoff seedings. Seedings from region play dictate where teams are placed in the region tournament, and the first place team gets a first-round bye. Having finished second in Region 4-AAAA, the Knights are expecting to play the eighth seeded team. Senior Katy Constantinides said the team is prepared for the region tournament, having gained valuable experience from region play.
“I think we’ve definitely learned how to play together,” Constantinides said. “I think we’re prepared for the region tournament and state playoffs. A few of the underclassmen have been coming in and having little moments that help us overall, and I think our energy is really good.”
Bryant highlighted the focus on defense as the team polishes their game prior to the region tournament.
“We’ve been working a lot on defense,” Bryant said. “We’ve been able to execute what we practice in games by doing the little things like diving for loose balls, boxing out and limiting teams to one shot.”
Despite pressure rising as the region tournament approaches, Bryant said the team is prepared because of their high chemistry as a team.
“The team’s chemistry is strong right now,” Bryant said. “I feel like we’ve found our rhythm as a team, and everyone supports each other. We’ve learned how to communicate on the court and really know each other’s strengths. Our confidence has gotten better and you can see it when we play together.”
Throughout the beginning of the season, senior co-captain Hailey Wortmann recognized the bonds the team has created. She said their strong companionship helps them on the court.
“This is a really good team,” Wortmann said. “Everyone is super close and I think that affects the way we play because we’re all so connected and almost always on the same page. Because of our chemistry, we’re able to hold each other to high standards.”
Wortmann said the new additions to the team have positively impacted both the team’s on-court performance and off-court unity.
“Having Journey on our team has definitely affected the environment,” Wortmann said. “She brings great energy both on and off the court. She is very aggressive and a great leader on the court, and she’s a good friend and brings a lot of exciting energy to our team. The dynamic has definitely changed this year with her.”
Building upon chemistry, Bryant reflected on how the team has improved thus far in the season.
“We’re shooting better overall, and we’re much more consistent with the small things like ball movement, spacing the floor [and] playing together as one unit,” Bryant said.
Wortmann believes finishing strong in region play is very important and will benefit the team going into the playoffs.
“We finished in second, and we’ve already played Creekside twice and lost,” Wortmann said. “Those were definitely the most competitive games in region play. They’re a very good team, but we still have an opportunity to prove ourselves in the region tournament and playoffs. Now we just have to stay consistent and finish out the region tournament strong, while focusing on polishing imperfections in preparation for playoffs.”
