With the help of Coach Kevin and Coach Nick, Coach Bridget Bantle’s girl’s basketball team made it to the first round of playoffs. They finished with a record of 9-14. Even having to overcome some difficulties with player injuries this year, Coach Bantle says this season was still a great success in many ways.

Junior player, Roliana Hannan, said one thing that stuck out to her was the team bonding. Coach Bantle has taken the team out to many group activities to give the girls experiences outside of basketball. Some activities they have done are bowling, going to a college basketball game, getting shakes, and team dinners and breakfasts.

Coach Bantle said, 

“Team building is an important part of building a program. What happens off the court is just as important as what happens on it! It is in these moments that a team becomes a family.” 

Not only did the girls seem to work great together socially, they really proved themselves out on the court. Having Peyton Marrone get hurt in the 7th game of the season and then Ashley Flynn in the 13th, the team had to find a way to overcome these setbacks and move on. Since Marrone and Ashley were leading scorers, the team was forced to rise to the occasion and work harder than before. According to Coach Bantle, the team, of course, did this extremely well, and is very proud of them for the way they handled the very tough situation.

The girls’ dedication this season is something Coach Bantle speaks strongly of. The team will participate in the Rutgers Camden Summer League come June. The league is made up of very tough teams but Coach Bantle believes, “In order to get better, you have to play against the top teams. We accept the challenge knowing that in the end, we will be better for it!” In addition to that, the team participates in summer workouts 2-3 days a week in June and July. 

Coach Bantle says, “This team is amazing. I am so proud of their dedication, commitment to the team, and belief they have in our vision. Every day was an opportunity to get better and these girls gave 100% to that concept. They are BELIEVERS and when you have believers anything is possible!” When asked if there was anything that will be worked on next season,

Coach Bantle finished off with:

“We are going to work for one another. We are going to believe in one another. We are going to stay together as a family and see what kind of story we can write.”