Sophomore Mackenzie furlong shooting a free throw. Photo by Neden Bernadin.
By Neden Bernadin and Alexis Brown
The girls varsity basketball team currently stands with a record of 1-8, but between all the ups and downs so far this season, it is evident that the team’s dedication has helped to keep their hopes high for the remainder of the season. The girls are still trying to adjust to a new team and as for the newcomers, they are adjusting to the varsity level of competition. Despite their losses, the girls keep a positive attitude as they continue to practice and improve their skills. From Saugus to Triton, the girls have put up a fight in every matchup that came their way.
One main skill the girls are focusing on during practice to apply during games is communication. “[They] are trying hard to communicate on the court,” stated junior captain Caitlyn Leonard. The communication improves their chemistry on the court and better enables the girls to come together and work as a team. “When [they] all work together [they] can achieve great things” added Leonard. Coach Lydia Coverdale mentioned that another skill the girls are trying to perfect is defense so that they are more aggressive on the court and play more offensively when they are trying to minimize turnovers.
Basketball is a very team oriented sport and luckily for the girls team, each individual player has something unique to contribute to the team. Their individual skills combine together on the court and create something great. This combination of skills along with their positive attitudes has pushed the team to work harder. “[They have] had to learn to never give up no matter what the outcome of the previous game was,” expressed senior captain Tishida Stroud. They are able to take their mistakes from previous games and learn from them.
As the season progresses, the girls are now excited to have begun their Greater Boston League games as they will try and compete for the GBL title. Practice has paid off as the girls acquired their first victory against the Somerville Highlanders on Jan. 8, 2016. Though it was a close match, Malden won with a final score of 50 points and Somerville was off by just two points. Sophomore Tiffany Tortora scored the last two points for Malden from free throws during the fourth quarter. The girls showed a tremendous amount of improvement both defensively and offensively.
Leonard and Stroud look to encourage the girls to help each other out on and off the court. Leonard believes that they have the ability to become an all around well rounded team. The girls continue to persevere and are holding themselves accountable for their mistakes but only to fix them. Overall, the team is static to start their new GBL season.
