Varsity and JV teams stepped onto the court for their first games of the season ready to showcase the amount of work they had put into the teams before and during practices.
Although the varsity record was 4-19, junior Zaire Gillis, varsity point guard, pointed out the positives.
“We had more wins this season, and I think we worked better as a team at the end of the season,” Gillis said.
Sophomore Addison Lipp, JV small forward, got to experience the improvement and growth from the team as a whole.
“We have improved throughout the season by coming together more as a team in games and at practices sometimes, and that is accomplished by always having a positive attitude,” Lipp said.
Mrs. Lindsey Glaze, assistant JV coach, has her eyes set on work to be done during the off-season.
“We made a concentrated effort to improve our communication on the court. I think this is the piece we were missing at the start, but once we figured it out, the season took on new life. We plan to continue a multitude of communication drills in the off-season to ensure that these skills are honed before the start of the 2025-2026 season,” Coach Glaze said.
Freshman Gaby Anderson, JV guard, reflected on the team’s growth.
“Our chemistry, our skills and our teamwork have all improved. We spent a lot of time during practice building our team bond and spending quality time together. We also just work hard and pay attention to our skills,” Anderson said.
The JV team ended their season 4-19. Athletes knew the importance of incoming freshmen to the overall program.
“When you start out a season in a rough patch, you have to look for ways to implement change to benefit the team’s strengths. Our strengths were two-fold and lay both in our talented influx of underclassmen which brought us speed, height, great attitudes and willingness to take on the challenge. Additionally, we have six upperclassmen who have the skills and fundamentals needed to perform well under pressure and to lead the underclassmen,” Coach Glaze said.
Growing relationships was important, regardless of game results.
“The coaching staff had a focus on improving the girls’ on-the-floor communication while trying to incorporate a lot of new faces to the program. We will continue to look to add to our program through our youth initiatives and drive home the standards that we set for our Lady Woodmen basketball program,” Coach Glaze said.
Improvement and change is everything to a team. Their record may have not beenwhat they hoped, but the change was there due to Coach Jenny Pfieffer’s vision.
“Head Coach Jenny Pfieffer has a vision for the team, and that vision is to continue to build around fundamentals and teamsmanship. This is not done overnight, but we have seen so many improvements in our players – both on and off the court. This team is poised for a breakout year soon, and that is the goal we will continue to strive for,” Coach Glaze said.
Gillis pinpointed who she thought grew her talents the most this season.
“I think the most improved on the team is Emma Gardner. She grew her skills in defense towards the end of the season. Not saying that she wasn’t good on defense before, but she has so much growth,” Gillis said.
The team had stand-out players.
“I think the most improved player is Zaire Gillis because she’s started to talk a lot more and always puts in a lot of effort during games and practice,” Lipp said.
Improvement comes in many ways, but one player stood out to Anderson.
“I think Lola Trent is the most improved player. She works really hard in practice, and she tries her hardest. When she gets into the games, she applies what she did in practice to the game, and you can see it work,” she said.
