By Diana Bilotta, Sports Editor

Although they ended their season two games under .500, Trinity Hall’s basketball team showed their full potential and talents on the court. With a team of 12 girls, mostly freshmen, they proved they have the skill and ability to win tough games, even beating some varsity teams.

Kathryn K. ’18 goes up for a fast-break layup against Brick Memorial High School on Jan. 9. Photo by Melissa Whelan

In an effort to face more challenging teams throughout the season, the Monarchs competed in five varsity games, impressively winning three of them despite being two to three years younger than their opponents. In addition, the young squad competed in the Prep B State Championship tournament this year.

“I think our team played fantastic,” head coach Pat Grier said. “It was an encouraging year with a lot of hard working girls.”

In particular, their game against Wardlaw-Hartridge’s varsity team on Feb. 5 showed their perseverance and endurance, as they came back from a first-half deficit. They ended up winning the game by one point, with freshman Catherine Loder leading the way with 15 points and Olya Langille contributing nine.

On their performance this season, returning sophomore Chloe Toole said, “We [did] awesome and we work[ed] together well as a team. I can’t wait to see what we can do next year.”

With just one year on the team under her belt, freshman Emily Knepple felt Trinity Hall basketball is “excelling and growing together as a team.”

Grier agrees that the girls have made huge strides in just two years by pushing each other. “Coming into a program like this, you’re not sure what to expect, but these girls really have improved with the help of one another,” Grier said.