Choate Bests Exeter Girls’ Varsity Basketball

By Beverly Oleka and Maggie Chang

On Jan. 22, the girls’ varsity basketball team played their first away game against Choate Rosemary Hall. Unfortunately, despite the team’s thorough preparation and incredible enthusiasm, Exeter lost the game 31-57. 

Girls’ varsity basketball captain Ana Casey described the team’s built-up energy after watching the junior varsity (JV) game. “Going into the game, we had a lot of energy. We were very ready because we watched the JV team beforehand and cheered on Anna, who was playing with JV but is also a part of our team. It was definitely cool to have that bonding time as a team before the game because we usually just get off the bus and start playing immediately,” she said.

Girls’ varsity basketball head coach Katie Brule agreed. “The cheering brought us a lot of energy, which we channeled into a strong start against Choate in our game.” 

“Throughout the game, I felt as though we started with good, strong energy which began with our win at the tip-off,” upper Bridgette Martin added.

“We knew that the game against Choate would be good and that they had beat Loomis Chaffee School, who we lost to at the beginning of the season - quite a big loss honestly,” Casey said. “With that in mind, we knew that it was gonna be a tough game, but we also knew that we are a different team now than we were when we played Loomis. We were all feeling ready to not only win, but also have a good game.”

“[That said] I was really excited and proud of my friends on the court for trying really hard and playing their best. I think I got more excited throughout the game because of the energy that other people on the bench were bringing,” prep Anna Holtz said. “By the end of the game, people were getting super excited, and even though we were losing, it was still really fun to watch.” 

But it’s more than just the energy that leads to an amazing game. The girls varsity basketball team has been working hard both on and off the court to enhance not only their energy but also their offensive and defensive game play as well. 

Casey commented on how she specifically saw the most improvement in the team’s communication: “We were talking more [though there is] still space for improvement.” In addition, “Our press break was really good. We’ve gotten flustered in other games…[but] in this game, we were able to break it pretty consistently and quickly, and we got a couple fast breaks off of it too, so overall our defense was really good,” Casey said. 

Casey’s thoughts also echo those of Martin’s. “On defense, our rotations were much more effective. However, many of our shots were not falling,” Martin said.

“Personally, I realized that scoring must be made a priority because if we don’t score we are unlikely to win,” Martin continues. 

Casey strongly agreed. “We [struggled] with scoring, and figuring out what our team flow is on offense…The team needs to rely less heavily on Jac, for scoring and we need to have other people step up [more] and be consistent in our shots to win games. Scoring - having consistent shots - is key,” she said.

“If we could’ve made around half our shots, we would’ve been in the running for a win. Honestly, if our team continues to play like how we did against Choate, we will be winning most/if not all our future games,” Martin concluded.

Overall, the girls’ varsity basketball team is growing stronger by the day. The team is eager to pull off some wins in their next games. “Our team is very much ready for our second win [against St Paul’s]” Casey announced. 

“Go into each game believing we can win,” Brule assured the girls. “I’m so proud of this team.”