Injuries and fresh, additional players have not withheld the Moccasin’s women’s basketball team from starting off the season with a bang.
Already, these ladies are boasting a successful preseason.
“Our preseason went a lot better this year, and so far we have been playing a lot better together,” sophomore guard Ali Sanders said.
The Mocs’ 2013 team encompasses a 13 member lineup, eight of which are new players.
Despite the new additions, the women’s basketball team is more confident in themselves than in years past.
“Our team has a lot better chemistry on and off the court this year,” Sanders said.
Of the eight new players, four are freshmen. Even with young teammates, there is still competition and drive for personal and team improvement.
“We push each other really hard to get better and are also trying to improve ourselves,” Sanders said.
According to Sanders, the incoming freshmen are ready to work hard and play cohesively with the team on a college level.
The upperclassmen are showing the ropes to the younger players and assisting them in learning the ways of the team.
“Everybody has been nice and helpful, trying to get us to learn,” Christin Strawbridge, freshman forward, said.
Though some injuries have plagued the team, the fire has not defused and those players in the healing process are ready to return.
“Everyone is coming back stronger, and we are going to be really competitive this year,” Sanders said.
A resilient comeback will be necessary to be a viable force in this year’s league, yet Sanders and Head Coach Holly Borcher are confident in their team’s vigor.
“The SSC is a very competitive league. Each year just a few games separate the top from the bottom. We are expecting the same this season. We will be prepared and we will compete,” Borcher said.
Many of the players are developing goals not only for personal improvement, but also to contribute to the improvement of the team.
“One thing I’m pushing for is doing whatever I have to do to make this team better and be as effective as I can on the court and have a high shooting percentage,” Sanders said.
Each of the players is willing to provide her talent wherever it is needed so that the team can be a competitive force.
“I want to be able to do whatever the team needs me to be able to do,” Strawbridge said.
Several of the overall team objectives are narrowed down to specific details in order to be effective in every area on the court.
Some of these goals include out-rebounding the Conference, offensive and defensive efficiency, winning games and eventually winning Conference.
While reaching these targets is an important aspect of playing basketball, Borcher’s philosophy for her team conveys the importance of commitment and playing with heart.
“We have a picture of a U-Haul truck on a list of agreed upon behaviors that we believe are necessary to get us where we want to go this season,” Borchers said. “The idea of the U-Haul is that you are responsible for what you bring to the team. What you bring is going to either make us better, or be dead weight for us to carry.”
