Girls' basketball

New uniforms. Matching team shoes. A stellar first half of the season. The girls’ basketball team seems to have a lot to boast about as they head into the new year.

The girls’ basketball team has an overall record of 10-1 so far and it seems the team's chemistry is to tribute. "We are very tenacious on offense and defense this year," said senior co-captain, Mady Williams, of the team's energy. Junior Emma Saxton added that one of their biggest strengths is their ability to turn on the heat. "We start off strong and we can finish strong," she said.

The team's main goal this season is to take the county championship. All the hours the team has put in should help the Panthers get there. The girls’ basketball team practices six days a week, two hours after school every day and early Saturday morning practices starting at 8 a.m. sharp. "The goal is to win counties and maybe even galaxies,” Saxton said.

The team said they have a dynamic that seems to be more like that of a family. “Coach Wiz enforces teamwork and when we’re down in the game, he encourages us to boost us up,” Saxton said of veteran coach Scott Wisner. “Coach says the reason he can get mad at us at the games is because he thinks of us as his daughters and he wants the best for us.”

Even off the court, the girls’ basketball team spend time together. They've created a warm-up CD for their games, including Saxton's personal favorite, "Now or Never," from “High School Musical.” Besides listening to music and laughing, Williams said that one of her favorite memories this winter was walking through Christmas Magic together as a team.

The girls play at home on Tuesdays for the rest of the season. The annual rivalry game against Red Lion will be held at home on January 22 at 7:30 p.m. This game will also be televised on Fox 43 at 7:30 p.m. The schedule for the girls’ county and district run can be found at GameTimePa.com.

Whatever the turnout is for the rest of the girls basketball season, one thing seems to be certain, they’ll always have each other and the memories they’ve made. "We're a bunch of ionic bonds: Unbreakable," Saxton said.

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