With the 23-24 season starting for the girl’s varsity basketball team, they’re already doing well with a 6-13 record. Last year they had a small team of 8 girls, and this year they lost 4 seniors, but this year Daviana Vidal, Azya King-Story, Veronica Delcid, and Maya Mira joined them on the varsity level. The girl’s basketball team went 9-13 last year, so what are their plans and goals for an improved season?

In basketball there are 5 players on the court and each player has a different role for the team. These roles are point guard, center, small forward, power forward, and shooting guard, “I play a guard or a forward. A guard helps the team because there are multiple guards and we work together to get to the basket. As a forward I help the guards get open to get a point for the team,” said freshman, Daviana Vidal, “I usually play post and it helps the team by setting screens and being an option to score whenever is needed,” said sophomore, Maya Mira.

Like most sports whether it’s football or cross country, every team has traditions that they’ve done since day one or recently started, “We have a ton of traditions. My favorite is the holiday party. We eat good food, have a gingerbread house competition, and play games,” said Coach Nguyen.

During the off-season a player can eat what they like, and catch up on things like school work, meanwhile during the season an athlete needs to be more responsible so they can impact the team, “During the season my diet is a bit different and my sleep schedule. I sleep earlier and eat healthier meanwhile off-season I take a break to relax and maybe sleep a little later but also still practice to stay in shape,” said Vidal.

An underrated addition to the team is the manager, without the manager the team would probably struggle because the manager has many important jobs, “As a manager I get to hang out with the team and also make sure everything is in order and that we have everything. I do the score book at every game, and I pack everything the team needs into a bag to take to the away games. It’s a lot of fun,” said freshmen, Adrianna Willard.

Like all sports teams, everyone has an important rival game. “Traditionally, our biggest rival is Unity Reed. We love to play them because they are across town and a lot of our players know each other. Additionally, three of our five coaches are OHS grads so that rivalry has been a part of us since we were kids,” said Coach Nguyen.

The team has only had 11 games but let’s view their season!

11/27/23: The Osbourn Varsity Eagles won their home non-conference game against Hylton High School, 39-26.

11/29/23: The Eagles won their home non-conference game against Manassas Park, 49-28.

12/5/23: Sadly, the team took their first loss against Wakefield High School, 31-33.

12/8/23: The Eagles won their first conference game against Unity Reed, 63-6.

12/12/23: Osbourn Varsity lost to Patriot High School, 33-49.

12/15/23: The Eagles forfeit their game against Gainesville High School.

12/19/23: Osbourn Varsity Eagles lost their game against Battlefield High School, 20-54.

1/2/24: The team took another loss against Osbourn Park High School, 39-68.

1/4/24: Osbourn won their game against Park View High School, 53-42.

1/9/24: The Eagles took a tough loss against Freedom High School, 28-44.

1/12/24: The team took another win against Unity Reed High School, 55-24.

1/17/24: Osbourn lost their game against Patriot High School, 54-59.

1/22/24: The team look a loss against Gainesville High School, 27-56.

1/23/24: The Eagles lost against Battlefield High School, 35-45.

1/26/24: Osbourn lost their game against Osbourn Park High School, 23-60.

1/30/24: The team won their game against Rock Ridge High School, 46-43.

2/2/24: Osbourn lost their final game against Freedom High School, 36-44.

Our reporter Veronica got the inside scoop on some of our varsity players. Here is her report.

Rhyannon Stanley is number 4 on the team, she is a senior. She has been playing basketball since she was in 4th grade, Rhyannon is a forward she tries to score as much as she can. Rhyannon enjoys playing forward because she can get rebounds, set screens, and block shots. She is not playing next year, but she will be playing softball in college! “Sadly this is my last year playing basketball, but I will be playing softball in college,” said Rhyannon, “My favorite thing about basketball season is the Christmas party we do every year. We play games, eat, build gingerbread houses, and exchange gifts. It is a very good team bonding and is so much fun every year,” said Rhyannon. She also likes playing basketball because she has a very good bond with her teammates and coaches.

Aylani Ruiz is number 24 on the team, she is also a senior. Aylani has been playing since she was in 8th grade. She enjoys playing because her and her dad share and love to talk about it. Since she is a senior, she won’t be playing anymore, “I won’t be playing next season because I’m graduating this year, but I will miss playing with this team and the bond we have as a team,” said Aylani. Aylani enjoys playing forward because she likes setting screens. “I enjoy being on this team because I have a good bond with everyone and just really enjoy playing basketball.” said Aylani. She brings lots of joy to this team and also cheers her teammates on.

Angel Boeteng is number 1, she is a junior and she is the only junior on the girls basketball team. She is the team captain, Angel is a very good player she is a point guard but also knows how to play a forward, “I like being a point guard because it helps me become more of a leader,” said Angel. She has been playing since she was in 3rd grade. She averages about 15 to 17 points each game. Her goal is to score about 25 points per game, she is very skilled and knows how to move the ball around, she can get the ball to where it can be put up for a shot. Angel hustles down the court and is always getting open to help her teammates out.

Maya Mira is number 21 and is a sophomore; she has been playing for two years now. She looks forward to playing basketball next year because she loves playing with her teammates, “I hope to score about 20 points this season,” said Maya. She is a forward, Maya likes playing a forward because she likes setting screens to help her teammates score and getting them open. Maya’s favorite thing about playing basketball is working as a team to score and to make sure there’s not so much pressure all on one player.

Irieanna Smoot is number 3 on the team, she is a sophomore as well. She works hard in practice and games. She averages about 17 to 20 points a game. Iriee has been playing basketball for about 3 years now and is very skilled. She knows how to view the court, she can handle the ball very well, and is overall just very talented. Irieanna looks forward to playing basketball in the future, “Yes I want to keep playing basketball next year because I like the game and enjoy playing basketball. It is something I would like to continue doing in the future,” said Irieanna.

Azya King-Story is number 15, she is a freshman on the team. Azya has been playing basketball since she was a little kid. She plays a point guard position. “I’m a point guard, I like being a point guard because I’m able to get to the basket and get the ball to my teammates,” said Azya. She can get open and shoot threes or go for a layup, she is a good shooter, makes free throws, assists her teammates to the basket, and hustles down the court. Azya scores about 10 to 15 points a game, she is a good player and has good sportsmanship.

Daviana Vidal-Quiroz is number 10 on the team, she is also a freshman. She has been playing for 2 years now, she looks forward to playing these next few years in high school, “I play small forward and a guard, I like playing small forward because I get to set screens for my teammates which can get them to score,” said Daviana. One of her favorite things about playing on the girls basketball team is getting close with the team members and setting screens. Daviana is a good forward player she sets great screens for her teammates.

We have 3 varsity coaches. Coach MJ, Coach Nguyen, and Coach Maysuch. They all played in high school and college. Coach Maysuch was a forward and center, she recently came to OHS this year. Coach Nguyen was a guard and played here at OHS, and Coach MJ was a shooting guard and also played here as OHS.