Success on the Court
Girls basketball took this past season by storm
Senior Sami Kale looks around the court to pass the ball as freshman Erin Brodnik blocks a defender charging towards Kale. Though girls varsity basketball team lost against McLean High School 49-59, they finished the season with a successful record of 17 wins and nine losses. Like the girls varsity basketball team, the freshman team also ended their season with a successful run with 12 wins and only four losses.
March 5, 2019
Here at Jefferson, basketball is one of the most revered and successful sports. In the girl’s basketball program, the freshman girls basketball team have made amazing progress since the beginning of their season. They are the first freshman team to win the district tournament in 20 years. Despite some ups and downs, they have had enormous success this season, even ending up undefeated in districts.
Beside their success in districts, they also ended the season winning 12 out of their 16 games as well as performing better than the majority of other freshman teams in the past.
“We are all really proud of our accomplishments. I feel that we have improved tremendously from our scrimmages to our games later in the season,” freshman Ashwitha Surabhi said. “We learned from mistakes and improved our team coordination as the season went on.”
Although their victory in districts was an amazing success for the team, they are also proud of every one of their achievements throughout the season, no matter how big or small.
“I think my favorite moment from the season was kind of an odd one- there was this one kinda tough game against Wakefield early in the season and we were tied and in overtime but then we really came together as a team and held our own and we ended up winning by one point, that was when I think we really started thinking of ourselves as a team instead of just individual players,” freshman Alexandra Fall said.
Despite their accomplishments, only varsity basketball was allowed to continue postseason.
“We were really disappointed when we found out we weren’t able to keep playing games, but we were really proud of ourselves because we set a new record at TJ,” freshman Ananya Chilakamarri said.
Although the team faced many bumps through the road as the season progressed, they all agreed that basketball was definitely worth it.
“One of my favorite moments from the season was when we would win games and celebrate as a team. I feel like I really got to know the team and I had a lot of fun with them,” Surabhi said.
![During a game against Hayfield last year, junior Helena Johnson dribbles across the court. This season, the Jefferson cheer team will be performing courtside at all varsity basketball games. “I didn’t know too much about basketball, but after two games, I caught on,” sophomore cheerleader Caitlyn Wood said. “I think [sideline cheer] is good to have the crowd engaged and keep encouraging the team to do their best.”](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/basketball.png)
![Photo courtesy of TJ Colonials Sports. “[At tryouts] masks were required at all times, and santization stations were set up so that after a ball was used, someone could clean it,” Anjali Maddipatla, a freshman on the varsity team, said. “We were required to bring our own water bottles so we didn’t have to share.”](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/basketball-356x475.jpeg)
![The boys gather around to recite their chant after what would be the final timeout of the game. “We should take this last game and use it to improve by never giving up and [continuing to] persevere,” Gundu said. The basketball season lasts until mid-February, so the team will be able to apply what they learned here for the majority of the season.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-18-at-10.07.22-PM-475x390.png)