The girls basketball team opened their season in a commanding style, picking up five straight wins as of Dec. 12. They look to build on last year’s historic season. After a tight two-point victory at Hopewell on opening night, the girls looked far more comfortable away against Beaver Falls and Central Valley. They beat Beaver Falls 56-24, and Central Valley 61-50. Another hard-fought win at their home opener in Beaver brought the Bulldogs to a 4-0 record in their first four games.

The team started their season on Dec. 2 with an away game against Hopewell. The game went right down to the wire, with the Bulldogs coming out ahead, 46-44. Junior Shaye Bailey led the side with an impressive 15 points, while senior Julia Mohrbacher and junior Cassidy Harris put up 11 and 10, respectively. The girls team took on North Catholic on Dec. 3 for their first home game, which was a scrimmage. While the game started out slow, they soon built momentum going into the second half and racking up points. The team won 57-34. 

Losing four seniors from last year’s season, the team anticipated many players to step up and fill their previous roles. The team has 14 underclassmen and seven upperclassmen, making the team a majority of younger and newer players. The seniors consist of Julia Mohrbacher, Jersee Melvin, Megan Evans and Kaylee Ostrowski. This year’s captains are Bailey and Julia Mohrbacher, who keep the energy up, both on and off the court.

“I think I just gotta try and be a leader, and encourage those other players. We have a lot of younger girls on the team, it also helps that we all came from the same soccer team, which is nice,” Julia Mohrbacher said. 

Practices have been running consistently for the team, and after the soccer season ended many girls went from one season to the next. Many players have bonded over other sports they are involved in, and this is especially the case for the underclassmen who are just starting their high school sporting careers. Having already known each other, many players hope to continue to bond as a group. 

“I hope I do my best to live up to the past players that have been on this team,” freshman Mackenzie Mohrbacher said. 

Looking toward the rest of the season, the team hopes to keep up with the wins and continue on to playoffs and states, respectively.

“I definitely hope that we can make another strong trip in the playoffs, whether that be going to the WPIAL final, or state finals, we’ll see. We gotta have high hopes for the season,” Julia Mohrbacher said.