Irvington Girls Basketball ended the season on Tuesday February 14th, 2024 by impressively setting a new record with an overall of 20 wins and 7 losses.
The team’s familiarity and communication skills allowed them to cultivate chemistry and start off the season strong with a 46-30 score against West High School. “I think our team is very established because we’re pretty much the same team that we were last year,” said Vaishnavi Chippa (12). “We worked so much in the offseason so everyone has a really good understanding of our offense and our defense”.
This year, with an already established team culture, they focused more on individual skills. Team captain Naz Hasanzada (12) said, “Every practice we just focus on getting better individually. When we’re better individually, the team stuff comes easy”.
As an extremely tight-knit team, senior night was very emotional with many memorable moments. The underclassmen on the team created a video displaying their favorite memories with the seniors, leading to a sentimental moment.
Laasya Mandela (12) reflects fondly over the team, saying, “I think we’re a special group of seniors. We even wanted to do something a little extra so we all also bought matching basketball shoes this season”. She added, “The senior night ceremonies were very cute and I think I’ve been closest to the girls this season, so it was very special”.
Another highlight was when the coach allowed senior Vaishnavi Chippa to shoot a free layup as her last time despite injury. She expresses, “Knowing that it was one of my last times as a high school athlete made it incredibly emotional, especially because I was surrounded by some of my best friends. I’m really grateful I had the opportunity to play with everyone”.
Despite a season of commendable achievements, the team had difficulty maintaining their mentality and remaining consistent. “We always come into games with the mentality that we have to win and we have to push, which is a lot to take on,” said team captain Naz Hasanzada (12). “We’ve had a couple bad games where no one was present mentally and it was really rough. We were getting yelled at and we weren’t scoring so our mentality was reflecting in our gameplay”.
After playing and winning against American, with a score of 41-38, the team earned a spot at the playoffs for the first time in two decades against College Park. This profound achievement showcases the team’s hard-earned skills and talent that empowered them to make history. However, the season ended with a bittersweet conclusion after their first loss at the playoffs. “This was my last time playing with the seniors on the court and it felt very bittersweet since the season ended so abruptly,” said Lauren Trinh (11).
Overall, this season became one of the most unforgettable ones Irvington has ever had and it reflects through the teams records and hardwork
