Girls’ basketball had around 25 people trying out for the team while only 12 people made the varsity team.
The team lost a total of four players; two who didn’t try out again and two seniors who went to college last year. There are a total of three seniors on the team with two returning. The new senior on the team is Miranda Wright, a star player from the girls’ soccer team. She is excited to be on the team and can’t wait to play her first basketball games. “I’m super excited to play basketball this year. I’ve always played soccer but I decided to play two sports this year because I feel like it would be really cool to be a two-sport athlete. It’s going to be very different and hard but I can’t wait for the challenge,” Wright said.
Last season was a big disappointment for the Patriots, finishing with only one win in 22 games. The team lost in the first game of the playoffs by more than 20 and they knew that a change is needed. A new assistant coach was hired, Madison Katiar, to help this team get more wins. Sivan Bennaim, a returning senior, is optimistic about this year. She was top five in Montgomery County for rebounding her junior and senior year. She hopes to get the rebounding title and help lead the team to a winning record this year. “It was hard last year only winning one game but I really believe we’ll do better this year. We’ve practiced a lot more and I’ve worked hard in the offseason so I hope that I will be able to get the rebounding title this year,” Bennaim said.
The first scrimmage for the Patriots is on Nov. 23, at Clarksburg at 10 a.m. They hope to start off the season strong and make a statement in this scrimmage even though it’s not a regular season game. Junior Iman Idrassa is excited for the game. “This is big for our confidence. Even though it isn’t a real game, it’s still our first of the season and the way we play here will carry into our first game and the rest of our season,” Idrassa said.
Freshman Kaitlin Mariani is a big addition to the team this year. She is the sister of former point guard Ryan Mariani for the boys’ basketball team and will be playing point guard as well. She is looking to start and will be a big help in getting more wins. With freshman Allie Marcellus being out for the season with an ACL injury, Mariani will have to play a much bigger role. The first game of the season will be on Dec. 5 at home against Springbrook at 7:15.
