The girls’ basketball team finished their season with a record of 12-8 and made it to the round of 32 at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) playoff tournament. Senior captains Zoe Oelkers, Sadie Candela, Katie Cullen and Charlotte Richmond led the team, and Oelkers reflects on the team’s dynamic and performance this past season.

How was the season overall? What worked for your team and what did not work?

“We weren’t that optimistic going into the season, but our defense definitely worked really well. We’re a really athletic team and most of us are multi-sport varsity athletes, so I think that definitely helped us outplay the other teams. We have really good bonds with each other and our team dynamic is very good because we’re all friends. I think that definitely helped our connection on the court and helped us succeed more than some people thought we would.”

What is your team dynamic like and how do you work together?

“Honestly, our team dynamic is pretty good. It’s one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been on and I’ve been on a lot. We hang out all the time, we always talk to each other on the bus and play games. We’re always dancing at practice and we had a fun little team sleepover, which everyone went to. We genuinely like each other’s company, so I think that really translates well on the court. We can read each other’s body language pretty well when we’re playing.”

What was the most challenging part of this season?

“Definitely working on being able to score points. We are definitely more of a defensive, athletic team, so just getting the ball in the hoop more than the other team was definitely a struggle at the very beginning [of the season]. We had to figure out different offenses and [determine] which work best for us. We figured it out a couple weeks in and we’ve been cruising since then.”

What was a highlight of this season for the team?

“Definitely making the playoffs was really exciting and getting those 10 wins. A lot of people didn’t think we were going to get 10 wins, so to get 10 wins before we even needed to was amazing. We ended the season with a pretty good record, considering who we play. Winning a round of state playoffs and moving onto the next round was definitely also really fun.”

What players especially stepped up this season and how?

“[Sophomore] Brooke Adams definitely stepped up. She was a freshman last year, so she didn’t really have that much of an opportunity to show her skills. She went from having to be on the bench to starting and playing most of every game and being a high-scorer. I also think [freshman] Ashlee Dameri. She’s been doing really well and scoring a lot of points for us. [Seniors] Sadie Candela and Katie Cullen on defense have definitely stepped up and been locking down some really good Division I girls.”

What do you think next season will look like?

“We are kind of a young team; there’s only four seniors, so I’m optimistic they’re still gonna be good next season. I think they’re going to have to change some things without the athleticism from [seniors] Sadie, Katie and Charlotte Richmond. I think they’ll be fine because they’re a young team and all of the players are really talented, even the people that haven’t seen that much of the court yet.”