The women’s basketball team has had a triumphant start to their season. They currently stand at a 3-1 record and are settling into the season. In the words of junior Lillian Null, “we started out really strong,” and the team has not proven her wrong.

Their first game was played at home, where the Maple Leafs cruised to victory against Michigan-Dearborn. Winning 116-63 and recording the second highest score in program history. 

Following their initial success, GC beat Cornerstone 74-48. Following this game, fifth year Zion Neat was named Everence Student-Athlete of the week for averaging 20 points per game. Neat said, “last year I struggled a lot with consistency,” as she continued, she cited the new head coach Tyra Carver as a big reason for her improvement, “my playing style fits with her coaching style really well.”

To continue the Leafs winning-streak, the women’s team were victorious over Trinity Christian College with a final score of 60-45. For this game, The women’s basketball team collaborated with the Prevention Intervention Network (PIN). This game was dedicated to mental health awareness. Fans wore green in support of this cause and PIN handed out gift bags containing stickers and self care items. The women’s team have worked hard to spread awareness about their collaborations and themes like the Halloween costume night on Nov. 1. The team’s success has also shown in the student section, which has grown significantly with each game.

The Leafs attribute their success to the consistent training schedule they followed in preparation of this season. Coach Carver was an assistant coach last year and says working with the team is “very enjoyable.” She said, “They’ve allowed me to push them,” and that “the girls have responded really well.” The team had many early morning practices that focused on speed work and agility. Senior Syanne Mohamed spoke on the new sessions that were introduced, “we would go to the track, we had practices out on the sand doing cardio and agility workouts and we focused a lot on our defense.” Many of these practices took place in the early morning according to senior player Paula Ferrer Nolla.

Nolla expects the team to do well this season because, “we have a lot of seniors who carry a lot of experience.” Neat added, “We will be looking to head into the conference undefeated,” and Mohamed said, “be able to show the competitors who we are.” 

Holy Cross defeated the Leafs 86-83 Wednesday night and the women’s basketball team will take on Aquinas College on Saturday the Nov. 16 in the Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.