The 2018-2019 season set a new standard for girls varsity basketball and was the second best in Lady Vikings history. This newfound success may have come as a surprise to some as this was expected to be a rebuilding year for the team. Since last year’s line up was made up mainly of seniors it was fairly reasonable to think this year’s team might not have enough experience to compete with Nic Ten powerhouses. However, with a brand new starting lineup, including two sophomores, the girls picked up where they left off and finished the year with a 17-14 record and advanced all the way to the second round of the playoffs.

  “It was a good season, but we still have everything left to build on,” said Kate Dennis, sophomore, forward. “We need to build on our offense  from this year and score more.”

  Although the girls team ended up making history, their season didn’t come without a fair share of struggles. One was conference play, especially during the first half of the season. The girls had to play six divisional opponents within their first ten games winning just two of those matchups and only finished with a 9-9 in conference even at the very end of the season. Another flaw was an inconsistent offense as the girls failed to score 30 points in three different games in the first half of the season, which ended with them sitting towards the bottom of the conference at 5-11.

“Every season is going to have it’s highs and lows, so it’s important to keep your head straight and keep working your hardest,” said Kai’Terra Ross, senior, point guard.

I  These troubles turned out to be just a mid-season slump, however, as the girls turned their season around fairly quickly. The girls kicked off the second half of the season with a season high five game win streak followed by another one shortly after. Part of the reason for the drastic turn around was a considerably improved offense. Between the first and second half of the season the girls went from averaging 42.81 points per game to 48.59, respectively. Due to this change in playstyle, the girls finished the second half of the season going 12-3 and securing a playoff spot. The Lady Vikings continued this new found momentum into the first round of the playoffs as they cinched a narrow victory of 45-44 against Harlem to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Sadly, their season came to an end there after they lost 61-20 to Hononegah, the team that went on to become regional champions. Despite the team’s historic season, it appeared as if their most recent loss may have tainted their season in the eyes of the girls.

  “I was really proud of what we accomplished, but overall I’m really disappointed with how it ended,” said Ty’meria Taylor, sophomore, guard. “To have all of that momentum going into this game on a hot streak and then getting blown out by forty points was unacceptable to both me and the team.”