The varsity girls’ basketball team opened the season last Friday with a 67-17 loss to Walnut Grove High School.

Although the Lady Raccoons started the season with a loss, the team is analyzing the season opener to improve.

“I think I could improve on being more aggressive on offense, and really slowing down and focusing on our turnovers,” senior point guard Mallory Wooldridge said. “We struggled with that as a team in general.” 

Moving forward, the team is focusing on practices to improve their game. 

“During practices, we build off of each other,” Wooldridge said. “If some of us are lost, we push each other up and try to get them to understand how the drills work. In games, a lot of it is making sure we’re on the same page and being able to connect with each other.”

Players said strong communication can help the team improve.

“We make sure to communicate a lot, and especially on offense, having good ball movement [is necessary],” junior Chloe Christian said. “Talking on defense and offense is also really helpful.”

The Lady Raccoons felt their defense and focus was strong, but their offense and turnovers needed improving. They plan to work on their weak spots during practice to prepare for upcoming games.

“I think I did really well on defense specifically, just [by] keeping it aggressive and ensuring that the other team wasn’t able to get rebounds,” Wooldridge said.

Returning athletes had to adjust to having a new coach for the upcoming season, but are excited about Coach English leading them.

“I’ll definitely remember the way that we were talking about the first game, and how we had really high hopes, especially with coming in with a new coach this season,” Wooldridge said.

With their high expectations for a new season, and new coach, the Lady Raccoons value their team, and lean on their relationships for future games.

“My favorite part about basketball is 100% my teammates,” Wooldridge said. “I’ve been with a lot of them since my freshman year, and I think we’ve just created a really good bond, [which] gives us such a great ability to play well together.”