Girls basketball ended last year with a 4-4 record overall and 3-4 in section, and placed fourth in their 3A section. They also made it to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) quarterfinals, where they lost to North Catholic by a score of 69-49. The girls decided that staying focused and working as a team was the only way to get through playoffs in the future. With a completely COVID-19 filled season last year, the girls were deprived of the time they needed to practice, and even time for games to happen. Their season continually got pushed back, and the whole season was full of uncertainty. The girls lost last year’s senior captain, Karissa Mercier, who left some big shoes to fill. With at least 13 girls on the team, they have high hopes for this season.

Olivia Evans, Cadence Gorajewski, Isabella Klenk, Jessica Majors, Renae Mohrbacher and Grace White make up the six seniors on the team this year. All of them are major players and assets for the team this year. Being their last year, every part of the season counts, including the beginning practices and conditioning. 

“As a senior, I am looking forward to going into playoffs and some of my favorite things about the beginning of the season is getting back with my teammates from last season and to be back on the court,” Gorajewski said. 

There are also at least three freshmen joining the team this year, giving many an opportunity to learn together in person this year. Due to COVID-19, the girls didn’t get to really be a team until about two weeks into January. Many of last year’s freshmen lost out on some of the personal aspects of being on a team and working together on the court again. 

“I hope this year I will be able to play more games since last year we only got five games because it got shut down for COVID-19. I also hope to have more players on the team because last year the 8th grade team only had about six players,” freshman Riley Tokar said. 

 They also had to wear masks for the majority of practices and games, depending on school regulations. However, they pushed forward and were still able to have a great season, even through some trials. 

“Last year our season was affected due to other teams having COVID-19 and game cancelations, but other than that it did not affect us much,” Gorajewski said, “Although wearing masks during practices was a bit tough, but we managed it.” 

The girls are hoping for a great upcoming season, and have many projections for how it will go. They stand their ground in their section, so their main goal is the playoffs, as well as being a strong team.