Girls’ Varsity Basketball Finishes Strong Season
This year’s girls’ varsity basketball team had yet another strong season, reaching the semi-finals of the playoffs and finishing with a record of 12-10. After two deep playoff runs and a championship in the last two years, the team has established themselves as a dominant presence in the league.
A few key players were lost from last season’s championship team, but this year’s roster was just as strong. The many returning players helped set the tone for the season and several new faces offered fresh talent. Overall, the roster was comprised of 13 players who survived a tough and selective tryout.
Once the team was set the girls got right to work, hoping to achieve another championship year, but first concentrating on building team chemistry and learning to work together. For the first couple games, they faced off against tough opponents, but still struggled to play as a cohesive unit after only having a few days of practice. Suffering four losses in a row, the team finally began to adjust its attitude, turning its season around. Senior Peace Kabari, the team’s co-captain, explained the team’s turning point.
“We had some incoming girls that were really good and just needed the confidence to go out and do what they did best during practice. They rose to the occasion and that definitely helped us all play together,” she said. Once the team began to click, it won its next eight games, some against very skilled teams.
“It was incredibly satisfying to win after all of our hard work throughout the season.”
The majority of the games that girls’ basketball played this season came down to the wire. Yet, impressively, the girls succeeded at capitalizing on these close games due to their grit and relentless effort. As time would begin to run out, the girls would rally together and out work their opponents to seal each game. The team’s intensive conditioning practices were also an important reason for these late game successes. Kabari commented on the team’s fitness and stamina.
“Our strength was in our conditioning. Our coaches made sure that our Monday and Thursday practices were harder than games. This helped allowed us to hustle teams, especially in the second half,” she said. The tough practices not only prepared the team physically, but also mentally, as the girls tenacity was a constant presence on the court.
Another factor to the team’s late game dominance was the roster’s depth. Many girls played quality minutes off the bench and maintained the same level of play that the team’s starters exemplified. The athleticism of the girls was impressive, but also presented difficulty. On one side, they had no problem subbing girls into the game because each player demonstrated a high level of skill. However, almost every member of the team played multiple varsity sports, which made it hard for them to compete against schools that recruited full starting lineups that dedicate themselves to basketball year round. Even though the girls were disadvantaged by their different time commitments, they still made huge improvements throughout the season and beat a few of the heavily recruited teams.
The season as a whole came in a pattern of good and bad streaks for the girls. They lost the first four games, won the next eight, then lost five more before finishing the regular season with three wins in a row.
The girls were coming off the eight game streak when they first played their rivals, Andover. The Exeter girls came out with intensity and were winning 27-20 at halftime. Unfortunately the team lost its momentum in the second half. After a few frustrating calls, the team got discouraged and its defense waned, while Andover rallied a comeback to win by four points. Demoralized from the loss, the girls knew they could have played better and shifted its focus towards the rematch game on E/a a few weeks later.
Andover still hosted the rematch, but Exeter fans packed into Andover's gym to support the determined Exeter squad. Starting strong, both sides drained baskets, forced turnovers and initiated a number of fastbreaks. While Andover was up after the first half, the game remained close with a score of 27-24. The second half was competitive, but Exeter held a 2 point lead with 30 seconds left. On its last possession, Andover charged down the court to meet Exeter’s determined defense. Just one stop would win the game. As Exeter forced a turnover, the ecstatic fans swarmed the victors at the sound of the buzzer. Lower Charlotte Polk reminisced on the game’s final moments and the team’s high spirits afterwards.
“Coach told us after that his thought was that if there was any justice in this world, with how hard we've worked all season, we'd come up on top,” she said. “It was incredibly satisfying to win after all of our hard work throughout the season. That's a game I'll remember for the rest of my basketball career.”
Many girls on the team agreed that their rematch against Andover was the highlight of the season. Not only did the win against their rivals serve as revenge, but it also gave the team much needed momentum for the playoffs. Exeter played Choate in the first round of the tournament, squeaking by with a tight 46-44 win. Next, they faced NMH in the semi-finals. Like almost all their other games, the semi final matchup came down to the last minutes. However, it was NMH that came out on top this time with a score of 55-59, ending Exeter’s season.
The team will lose a couple of great players next year but will also retain a number of veterans. The returning girls cannot wait for next season to start and have already developed big expectations. “We have an athletic group of returners, and with them I think it will be another good season,” lower Ella Johnson said.