On Friday, Dec. 8, the lady eagles junior varsity basketball team played in their first home game of the season against Monarch High School after already defeating them in the first away game.

“We were excited. I told the girls even yesterday to spread it around and tell everyone 4 p.m.,” basketball coach Veronica Ziccardi said. “I think it was good for them to play at home with the energy in the home atmosphere.”

Not only was Ziccardi excited, but many of the teammates also felt the same. Due to it being the first home game, the feeling of school pride was even stronger according to the team.  

“I felt good, and I think we all played as a team, and that was our main goal today,” Nikki Bruner (3) said. “We executed everything we wanted to which felt great.”

There were about 30 people at the game to support the lady eagles. This pumped up the energy level within the team and made the stakes even higher.

“We had a lot of people cheering for us, which made the whole team so happy,” Joelle Landau (45) said. “This really helped to show the support for our team and made us try even harder to win the game.”

With the large turnout, many people were able to cheer the lady eagles onto victory.

“I felt really excited about the basketball season for our school,” freshman Lauren Avellanet said. “I think the team played really well and played both great offense and defense.”

The game started off strong for the team. Within the first two minutes, they were up 4-0.

“I felt nervous since it was our first home game, but I knew our team was well prepared,” Sammy Fisher (4) said. “I was very happy with how we played, and I’m proud of how strong we have become. The team is like my second family.”

The lady eagles continued their lead throughout the first quarter. The team went into the second quarter with a score of 16-0.

By half time, the lady eagles continued to dominate the game. The team was in the lead 26-2 at the end of the first half.

“I told them that I wanted to scream, and I was super energized,” Chelsea Watts (24) said.

The team held their own by the end of third quarter. With a score of 30-2, they were confident with their game play.

“At the end of first quarter, I was really excited,” Lea Harris (20) said. “We scored a lot, and they didn’t have any baskets yet, which made the feeling even better.”

The game ended with the Lady Eagles defeating Monarch 42-8. Not only did the team play in the comfort of the MSD gym, but also they won their first home game of the season.

“I felt energized, and I was ready for the next game,” Zareyah Simpson (14) said. “The game seemed a lot shorter than the other ones, and it ended really quickly.”

Now, the team is working towards achieving more victories throughout this season. This includes more practice and new strategies to make the team better as a whole.

“I think the strengths are that they all get along real well and that they all like each other, which is a definite bonus,” Ziccardi said. “I think one of our weaknesses is lack of experience since we have a lot of beginners on our team, but the beauty about it is that they want to learn, and they want to get better.”

The team is also working towards overcoming the obstacle created from the different grades, ages and abilities. However, they feel that they were able to combine all three to produce a win.

“I think they are working really well, and they really get to enjoy each other,” Ziccardi said. “It’s pretty awesome that different age groups can see that they can get along and know other people in different grades and they can be together.”

The lady eagles play in their next game on Dec. 13 in an away game against Deerfield Beach at 4 p.m.