By Helena Pierry

With the approach of the spring season, it is a great time to reflect on all the success and bonding that occurred with the winter sports teams. The RCDS Girls Varsity Basketball team was able to build meaningful connections while improving their basketball skills. The team had a great season with 10 wins and 4 loses. 

Their successful season has had its ups and downs, but the most memorable games have been the challenging ones, where they learned how to overcome them together as a team. According to Captain Claire Jiang ‘26, their hardest and most rewarding game so far has been against Hopkins, where they started off by losing by eleven but had an epic comeback in the last two minutes, finishing the game with a score of 52-47. While reflecting on this game, Sahar Harris ‘26, another captain, mentioned, “It showed how we work as a team and how our team chemistry has built from the beginning of the season.” 

The captains of the girls basketball team specifically enjoy being a part of a team as it allows students to bond and create friendships with students in different grades, and according to Jiang, team sports allow “you to have a second group that you can go to destress from school and have that place where you know you will always have fun.” Jiang stated that a highlight of the season has been team bonding, specifically playing Pictionary during a team dinner. Captain Mei Macintyre ‘26 also agreed that team bonding has been a great part of the season. She specifically enjoyed a fun holiday practice they had before winter break, where they were able to “relax, but still play basketball, and it also showed how close the team is.” While reflecting on the benefits of being on a team, Harris mentioned that being a part of a team “is an opportunity for you to meet people outside of your grade and meet people you would not have otherwise.” 

With the season coming to an end, the captains are looking forward to a couple more events before the end of the season. In the last few weeks of this season, Jiang looks forward to “playing more games, as a couple of ours have recently been canceled.” Harris is hopeful that the team makes the playoffs, as that was a wonderful achievement last year, where “it felt like all our hard work paid off.” The captains also enjoyed senior day and “celebrating the end of our time together,” said Mactinyre. 

Before the season truly ends, the captains believe that the team could work on improving a couple of aspects. Jiang believes that in practice, the team can work on free throws and have less turn overs. Macintyre hopes to work on communication on the court and being able to refocus during a game. She explained, “We tend to get really caught up in the game, and we are not always good at listening to the coach and each other.” Despite still having some areas where they can improve, the team has been doing an excellent job working together and supporting each other. 

After many years on this team and being captains this year, the leaders have some advice for the younger players. Jiang advises the team “to keep working together and support each other.” Harris says to “continue to lift each other up and be supportive on and off the court.” Macintyre mentions the importance of “appreciating the bonds that you have on the team and appreciating the time that you have on the team.” The girls varsity basketball team has had an incredible season, where they were able to improve their basketball skills, work on their teamwork, and build meaningful connections.