Written by Katlyn Marotz, Sports Editor & Staff Writer
With numerous setbacks and challenges, the Indian Trail girls varsity basketball team is setting out to make one of their most successful seasons in IT history, and its during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Feb. 12, the Hawks beat Racine Case in a WIAA Southeast Division-1 Regional game with a score of 65-16, and then won against Kenosha Bradford in the WIAA Division-1 Regional finals on Feb. 13, with a score of 56-41, both at Indian Trail High School. The team has currently been on a five game winning streak with a 8-3 record in the Southeast conference.
All winter sports were suspended until Jan. 4 at the start of their basketball season, causing lost practice time. They had to then adjust and make changes in preparation for the season’s early games.
“Obviously safety is the number one concern so the team completely understood,” Head Coach Robert Vandyke said. “But to have that layoff while other teams were playing was tough. I think mentally and physically for the girls and coaches it was a challenge.”
The team usually had two games and three practices during the week, but this year some weeks there were no games and others had three games.
“I would say the main hurdle for us was not playing as many games as we were used to. It was a small sample size of games this year, so we had to make adjustments and make sure we put ourselves in the best situation we could,” Vandyke said.
Senior point-guard Kalina Winslow identified one of the main hurdles for this year was getting into shape and maintaining it for the rest of the season.
“I think mentally at the beginning we were really concerned about how everything would play out but overall we were grateful to be there,” Winslow said.
She felt apprehensive about going into the season because there was not a structure set in stone, but the pandemic brought her and her teammates close together.
“We’ve had to work together to get through it and we’ve all benefited from it one way or another. We all love each other and that carries over to the court which helps us play better as a team,” she said.
“I credit them for staying in touch with each other, communicating virtually, and holding each other accountable. It’s been great to see the progress of the team this year.” Vandyke said.
The Lady Hawks are currently gearing up to face Franklin in a WIAA Sectional at Franklin High School at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18. Franklin recently came off a win against Oak Creek the previous week and has a 13-5 SEC record.
Update: Indian Trail’s girls varsity basketball fell to Franklin, 40-70, in the Sectionals semi-final Thursday night, ending their 2020-21 season.