The girls basketball team is almost halfway through their season with a 3-5 record. The team’s three wins were against Clarinda 73-31, Griswold 55-15 and Kuemper 60-48. Their losses were against Creston 63-49, Glenwood 68-52, Creston 67-65, Lewis Central 66-34 and Nodaway Valley 69-51.  

Freshman Claire Pellett plays as a point guard on the freshman team and as a wing on the JV team. Pellett is involved in cross country, dance, softball and track. She said she tries to work on ball handling, shooting and getting into the gym in the offseason. “We have bounced back from the adversity that we faced with the pandemic,” explained Pellett. She also said that she doesn’t like how they can’t high-five in practices very much. Pellett thinks this year is a lot more intense compared to last year, but she has learned more and it is an overall better experience.  

The team’s first practice/open gym was on Nov. 2. Jada Jensen, sophomore, plays as a guard and sometimes a wing for the varsity team. Jensen is also involved in volleyball, softball and soccer. Jensen said that the team keeps a good environment and play well together. She said, “We’re having to wear masks, which affects our ability to do conditioning and communicate in practice.” She explained there really isn’t an offseason for her. Even with all her other sports, she still tries to get in some basketball during the summer with open gyms and shooting in the mornings before school.

Junior Aspen Niklasen plays as a guard on the JV team and suits varsity. She is also involved in cross country in the fall and tennis in the spring. She attends open gyms in the summer and shoots in the gym on mornings before school to get in some extra practice. Niklasen thinks she has played pretty well and the team has played well together this season. Niklasen explained the team works well together even with having to wear masks during practice and taking their temperatures too. She said, “We still get the privilege to play, while other states aren’t and other teams can’t, so we’re grateful every day we come and we treat every game as a possibility of being our last.” 

The team’s leaders so far have been senior Haley Rasmussen with an average of 21.0 points per game, senior Tessa Grooms in rebounds with an average of 5.7 per game, and sophomore Jada Jensen in assists with an average of 1.0 per game. 

The girls’ Dec. 22 game against Shenandoah has been cancelled.