Girls varsity basketball team will play hard and play together

by Eva Gucker

The first game of the girls basketball season (December 2) is approaching again, and this year’s team looks to be ready for it. With four returning varsity players and five new additions to the team, Pittsford will not be at a loss for numbers this year, like it was last year when they were suiting up only six healthy girls for a number of games. In the past year, a lack of numbers has caused the girls some difficulty, but this team will be able to focus on other areas for this season. Pittsford looks forward to a successful season, but first must put in the hard work and dedication to complete this task.

Seniors Eva Gucker and Marisa Hamilton will be returning this year for their final season, along with junior Katelyn Kipfmiller and sophomore Autumn Buckner. Two juniors are making their varsity debuts in Brittney Houser and Katie Stiver, and the team is welcoming three new faces to the high-school version of the sport: juniors Ashley Buckner, Alexis Cramer, and Elainee Poling. With this core group of nine contributors, Pittsford is looking to have success. “I think we’re going to be good. We have a lot of potential,” said Marisa.

Because of the increase in numbers this year, the team will be able to do much more. It will give the girls the ability to do more traps, presses, and take other risks now that fatigue and foul trouble will not be as much of a hindrance. Their goal is to be able to impair the opposing teams’ offensive sets enough to cause turnovers. “We should be able to mix things up defensively to help keep teams off-balance offensively,” said Coach Hoover. The team’s defense will hopefully be a strength through the year. “One of our strengths this year for the team, I think, is our defense,” said Autumn.

Pittsford also plans to change things up on the offensive end by getting more ball movement. The girls will be getting more freedom offensively in hopes to increase scoring potential and decrease turnovers. “We have simplified things offensively…to get more player and ball movement,” said Coach Hoover. Coach Hoover is confident in the players’ ability to score which has encouraged him to give players this freedom.

Pittsford’s biggest worry for the upcoming season is the lack of size and proven rebounding. This is a big change from the previous year and may cause some problems that Pittsford will have to work through. “We lost almost 20 rebounds per game due to graduation, so it’s yet to be seen where we’ll pick up the slack in that department,” said Coach Hoover. Another weakness that will need to be improved is outside shooting and the slow pace of the offensive game.

With positive practices and hard working preparation, the team’s goals will not be out of reach. Although winning is obviously an overall goal, playing hard and to the team’s potential is at top priority. “If we work hard, play together, and meet our team goals, we’ll be satisfied with whatever results that leaves us with,” said Coach Hoover. Katelyn is looking to make noise in the league and in districts. “One big goal for the season is to win at least one game at districts,” said Kipfmiller. This year’s team has a lot of potential and with hard work could be very successful by the end of the season.