The girls varsity basketball team is off to a good start, with a winning record of 9-2 as of Jan. 25, and was ranked eighth by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) in the Division II girls basketball power rankings. This is a change for the program, as last year, it ended its season with four wins.

“I think the team came in really wanting to redeem themselves from a really tough season [last year],” head coach Amanda Rukstalis said. “There was a lot of off-season basketball happening to prepare [us for] a better season this year.”

This year’s team is composed of a very diverse group of athletes and each member brings their own skills and experiences to the team. It is composed of five seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen.

“I feel like we’re a lot closer since last year even though we have some new players and we lost some players,” junior and varsity player Lilly O’Driscoll said. “I just think we’re a lot more as a team, [which has] obviously changed how we are on the court and led to success in our season so far.”

Some underclassmen already knew many of the upperclassmen before the season and found those relationships to be helpful. At the beginning of the season, everyone was assigned a buddy in order to help better integrate the team members.

“I think that our team bonding and the fact that we’ve all been friends with each other before the season even started [has really helped us in terms of team success],” freshman and varsity player Ella Getz said. “For example, Alexina and Annie [McQuilkin] are sisters and Lila and Sarah [Powers] and I are all related. That’s definitely really helpful when we’re on the floor.”

The team meets six days a week for practices and games. On a usual week, they have two games. During practices, the team reviews their plays, practices shots and ends each practice with a scrimmage.

“We do a lot of transition drills to practice,” Rukstalis said. “[We practice] getting up and down the court. In the last hour, [we focus] on team dynamics, in terms of practicing our defense to prepare for whoever [we’re playing the next game].”

Some of the team members believe that to be playing at their best, they need to have good chemistry with each other. To do so, they must display qualities such as positivity, determination and teamwork.

“We [have] respect for each other, and we love each other so much,” Getz said. “We always pick each other up and we don’t hate on each other for [messing up].Our job is to pick each other up.”

This year, the team’s goal is to make the playoffs and potentially win a Dual County League (DCL) title.

“Obviously, we [have] already won more games than we did last year, but I really hope that we can end [with] a winning season, [rather than] a losing season,” O’Driscoll said.