On Feb. 6, the girls’ basketball team reigned victorious against cross-town rival Hollidaysburg. Within the final minutes of the game, the team finished with a final score of 40-34.
While the game ended in victory, the girls’ basketball team now has achieved the most wins since 2012 with a current record of 17-4 holding the title of second place in the Mid-Penn Conference.
The main mental strategy junior Melana Eyer uses to stay focused and execute the game plan effectively is being a student of the game.
“I spend hours making sure I know the other team’s strategies and really dialing in at practice, so I know our game plan as well,” M. Eyer said.
As a shooting guard, M. Eyer believes that taking some rest during a game is crucial.
“I maintain my focus by taking a break when needed. Basketball season is long and can have major effects on the mental and physical side of the game,” M. Eyer said.
Family and fans around have helped M. Eyer be the basketball player she can be.
“Every single one of them has helped me improve, helped me put the ball in the basket and helped me make the right plays when needed,” M. Eyer said. “Our team has a family type of bond, and we get along so easily which is a great thing to have.”
Following the player’s praise for the team’s camaraderie, Assistant Coach Amy Palfey acknowledged the setbacks and challenges they’ve faced.
“Setbacks and challenges will happen throughout a game. There’s highs and lows throughout the game, and we just try to weather the storm,” Palfey said. “It’s just a matter of making sure that we always respond and that we don’t give into feeling like we can’t do it or the negativity that could happen in those low moments. You just continue to fight and work towards getting a rebound or doing the things that you can control in those moments and I think our girls have really come a long way in trying to focus on what they can do and what they can control in a game.”
Amidst the ebb and flow of challenges on the court, Coach Palfey emphasizes the importance of weathering the storm and maintaining a resilient mindset shown through a player’s in-game response. Sophomore player Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore shares her experience with setbacks and overcoming them on the court.
“I try to let go of them as soon as they happen. And if it’s a major setback, I try not to dwell on it too long so I can move forward. When we lost to Central Dauphin, it bumped our record down and they actually made it to the Mid-Penn Conference playoffs. It was kind of a major setback for all of us because we were all looking forward to it since we got to experience it last year, but we came back and the next couple of games we’ve won, and we haven’t lost since so I feel like we all came back from that loss,” Nguyen-Moore said.
Head Coach Christopher Fleegle, along with the assistant coaches keep the team held together but require the team to be cohesive to assist.
“We believe as a coaching staff that in order for us to be successful, we need all five players playing as one which is sharing the basketball, giving up good shots for great shots and being completely unselfish on the defensive end,” Fleegle said.
By working together, senior Jaiden Krull tries to stay positive and help out other teammates.
“I just keep working hard and going all out every day at practice,” Krull said. “We continue to improve on little things that we work on to know that we’ll make it last longer.”
The challenging aspect during a game according to Krull is making mistakes and putting yourself down.
“It’s hard to bring each other back up from that negative state, but we’ve been working on helping each other and saying ‘next play’ to bring our spirits back up,” Krull said.
While individual adaptation is important to the growth of a singular person, teamwork is equally as important to the growth of team bonds. Knowing how to deal with issues under pressure as a team is beneficial to the success of the team.
“It’s taught me that even if things aren’t going well, as long as we stay together as a team then we can get through whatever we’re facing,” junior Lanie Wilt said.
Challenges weigh on the team as a whole, sophomore Kendall Cogan displays a different angle on how players can change strategies amid a game.
“If I’m doing badly, and I get subbed out, I try to just go to the coaches and ask what I can do better. And then if they give me something like if they give me positive feedback or something I just try to apply it the next time I go in,” Cogan said.
Player’s physique, ball handling, passing and shooting skills all determine what position they play. Nguyen-Moore adapted to a full position switch once she made it into high school with great success stemming from the switch.
“I used to be a point guard but then when I came into high school, I had two girls that were older than me. So I kind of got pushed to a guard. But now I’ve learned how to play as a two-guard and I’m starting to get better at it,” Nguyen-Moore said. “Last year when our team won District Six, I made a layup that pushed us to like a 10-point lead, I believe, and it was exciting. The experience was one of a kind because it’s my first ever district as a freshman and will stay with me forever.”
Sophomore Samantha Harpster is one of the shooting guards.
“I have been playing this position for years because I’m better at shooting threes and midranges than driving to the basket for a layup,” Harpster said.
Although some players are hurt by the defeat, Harpster argues to differ.
“I always have a positive mindset on how the game will end,” Harpster said. “Having this will keep me motivated to reach that goal.”
Harpster believes that throughout her career, she has evolved as a player, becoming more confident in her abilities.
“My turning point for this year was definitely becoming a varsity starter and scoring more points than I was at the beginning of the season,” Harpster said. ”I stay focused on the game while I’m playing and I don’t let anything distract me while I play. I’m always motivated to play because I like to win, especially with the group of girls I’m playing with right now.”
These turning points and special achievements in the game couldn’t be possible without the coaching staff and their mentalities.
“Think as a coaching staff, we really push that it doesn’t matter what’s on the back of the jersey, it matters what’s on the front. And I think the girls have bought into that at the end of the game we’ve always talked about as long as our team has one more point than the other team. It’s a win all the way around. And the girls definitely buy into that. That’s what you see on the floor is they’re very unselfish. And they play together very well,” Fleegle said.
While the teamwork aspect of coaching is important, some forget that critiquing is purely individual.
“It’s tricky when coaching because you have to correct players in regards to their skills that they might not be displaying the level that we need them to be at,” Palfey said. “So there’s a lot of constructive criticism and it just depends on the personality. So as a coach, you try to get to know the players and their personality types. And then that guides you in giving them constructive criticism, and helping them with the weaknesses that they may have. But we also want to praise them for their strengths too. So we make sure that we give them compliments on the things that they’re doing well, and then talk about the things that they need to work on.”
Freshman Raylin Eyer knows who she can count on when she needs them.
“They are always proud of my successes and they are always there to help me when things aren’t the best,” R. Eyer said. “It’s good having people like that when you play a sport.”
Although the team had accomplished the best season since 2012, R. Eyer has one accomplishment that she will always remember.
“The most memorable thing was definitely making eight out of nine three-pointers against Harrisburg,” R. Eyer said. “It felt really good to be able to accomplish that.”
The memorable performances made by the team allow the coaches to commend the team as a whole, where all of the coaches appreciate and adore the team.
“This is a special group of young ladies we have on our team. They represent the school very well, both on the court and off the court. And as a coaching staff, we’re very blessed to have them in our program,” Fleegle said.
