Under the golden lights of their home court, the Leander Lions junior varsity girls basketball team hustles from end to end, shoes screaming at their speed. The fateful swish of the net cuts through the gym’s pandemonium and the Lions score.
Since the first game Nov. 1, the girls junior varsity team has seen 3 wins and 6 losses. Presently, they face the continued prospect of district competitions.
“The season so far has been amazing,” sophomore and shooting guard Riley Leonard, said. “[It’s been] so enjoyable being able to step on the floor and play at such a high level. We started the pre-season with one loss and are now in districts we are [scored] 3-6. With having beaten Hays, Lehman and Lockhart. I’m so happy to go into this next round of districts and beat the competition.”
The team has learned to adapt after losing two players to injuries.
“With that we have had to adapt to playing with new players half way through the season,” Leonard said. “We overcame that by communicating with our new players and making sure they have all the resources to become a confident player.”
The importance of healthy relationships both on and off the court does not go unnoticed by teammates.
“[On the team] we are all super close and supportive of one another with everything,” Leonard said. “[We make] sure we all work together by… bonding and trying to connect with each other more. It not only shows off the court but on the court as well. Teamwork is important to me because I know that playing basketball is [is a sport where] we all work together on the floor… Having a good connection with your teammates and encouraging them helps with everyone’s dynamic.”
That bond pulled taut between teammates sings when struck; at another player’s distress, the team joins forces to lift their spirits.
“The season so far for JV has been rough with us first losing [another player and myself] to ACL injuries and then another teammate quitting,” the team’s shooting guard, point guard, and post Shiloh Turner said. “But other than that we’ve adapted to the new players and we’ve actually been playing great recently… My injury puts a lot of mental and physical stress on me this season since I have to sit out, but I’m slowly getting over it. My family coaches and teammates have helped me a lot this season by distracting me from my injury and even before I got injured by picking my mood up after a bad game.”
Although conflict between players may arise in the heat of a game, the players ultimately work toward cooperation.
“It’s kind of hard to describe our dynamic but I can say that we’re definitely extremely different kinds of players and people,” sophomore guard Myky Ho said. “There has been some drama about little things, but that’s bound to happen when you spend that much time with a specific group. I think I interact pretty well with all my teammates and we always have fun with each other. It’s also nice to have people on your team that are willing to problem-solve with you even if that means having disagreements with one another but at the end of the day we have no choice but to cooperate with each other.”
The next game is set for Friday, Jan. 17 against Hays High School.
