Girls’ Basketball Hangs onto Loomis
A Friday night game, a cheering crowd in the stands—Exeter’s varsity girls’ basketball team was ready to go. Big Red hosted The Loomis Chaffee School for the season home opener. Though they came off a big win over Milton Academy, the Big Red girls could not pull off a win at home. After falling to Loomis 44-39 in a hard-fought game, the team has spent the week practicing and preparing for the season ahead.
Big Red put up a good fight against Loomis, a school with a historically strong basketball team. “I thought Saturday’s game was a really great challenge for us and showed what we can achieve as a team,” senior and captain Mia Glinn said. “Many people thought we weren’t going to have a chance against a team like Loomis, but I think we gave them some good competition they were not expecting.”
Behind at the end of the first half, Big Red did not let it faze them and used the scoreboard to motivate themselves into a strong second half. With the help of the team’s captains Eva Carchidi and Bethany Lucey, the girls were able to stage a major comeback. “[Lucey] took an important charge in the second half that helped us keep our energy up on the co urt,” Carchidi said. “There was one play where we got six offensive rebounds in a row.”
Similarly, Lucey commended Carchidi for her hard work down at the basket. “Carchidi had a great game on Saturday. There was a stretch where she hit three three-pointers in a row to cut down their lead on us.” Players credited Lucey’s play with keeping Big Red in the game.
The game was close, but it was a tough loss for the Exeter team. After a strong season last year—qualifying for the divisional tournament at the end of the season—Big Red understands the hard work that needs to come and is ready for the challenge. “Last year, we held a lot of teams to their lowest-scoring game of the season and hope to do the same this year—we have done that for both of our games so far,” Carchidi said.
The team was unanimous when it came to what was necessary in upcoming practices. “On Saturday, we struggled on offense in the first half,” Lucey said. “The team needs to focus on moving the ball more to great good looks for each other.” Despite the challenge in Friday night’s game, Big Red is confident that, with more practice and time together, the chemistry will be quick to follow on the court.
Though the team has changed in its composition, the players remain confident. “Last season, we had a lot of great talent, lots of which has carried over to this year,” Glinn said. “This season, we have to adapt... by becoming an even tighter group and trusting each other through the whole season.”
The girls have high hopes for the upcoming season. They’re certainly off to a strong start.