Girls’ basketball shoots into new season
The girls’ basketball team prepares for the season with clinics and fall shootarounds. They will face New Fairfield in their game opener on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
The Staples girls’ basketball team is winding up with hopes for another successful season. Last year, they had a winning league record of 9-8 and an overall record of 10-10, placing them at 20th in the CIAC. This year, they will look to improve that record.
Staples graduated key players with FCIAC Second Team Sydelle Bernstein ’22, Third Team McKenzie Didio ’22 and Honorable Mentions Jennifer Westphal ’22 and Mia Didio ’22. In spite of this, the team’s prospects are strong, and Captain Scarlett Siegel ’23 is excited to lead.
“I’d say that the biggest obstacle this year is the fact that we are a younger team,” Siegel said. “I think that getting the younger girls used to the style of our program and the way the coaches run our team will be an obstacle, but from what I’ve seen so far, our underclassmen have been acclimating well.”
In addition to familiarizing the underclassmen with the program and compensating for the loss of multiple seniors, the entire team has been working hard to prove their potential for a successful season. The team has had 7:30 a.m. shootarounds, conditioning sessions and captains practices in the fall to prepare.
“The most important thing is that we start the season ready to go,” Siegel said. “It’s crucial that we spend our first weeks working on getting used to playing as a team and learning plays and defense, instead of working on basic skills.”
The team has high expectations for their conference and state play, setting a number of goals and objectives to get ready.
“The team goals are to unite and learn to play to each other’s strengths,” Jaden Mello ’23 said.
Staples’ strongest competitors this year will be St. Joseph, the current defending FCIAC champion, and Ludlowe, a team sporting a talented senior class.
“I know I’m not just speaking for myself when I say how excited I am for the season,” Siegel said. “The group of girls that are participating in the program are willing to go the distance this year and do the hard work necessary to be able to compete with top teams.”
Their first non-league game is on Dec. 13 at home against New Fairfield, and their first league game is on Dec. 22 away against St. Joseph.
