‘Tis the season for winter sports, and Carterville fans are excited for this upcoming season. Fall sports have had their share and made our community very proud; now, it is winter sports time to shine. With fall sports, there are many sports that come with it, such as football, boy’s soccer, boy’s and girl’s cross country, boy’s and girl’s golf, cheer, and dance. Winter sports are different, though they only have three sports: girls’ basketball, cheer, and dance.
With cheer and dance being both fall and winter sports, basketball needs its own spotlight, especially girls, as they have many new freshmen coming in and some seniors playing their last game for us this upcoming season. The Carterville High School girl’s basketball team did fairly well last year. Coach Todd Rogers shared his thoughts about the upcoming season by saying, “We plan to compete for a conference title and a regional title this year. No matter what happens, I know I am looking forward to spending a lot of time with these young ladies, and I know I will have a hard time seeing the season end for our three seniors.”
With this, the girl’s season has just begun, and with this comes many emotions, mostly from the school’s new freshman. This season, eight freshmen joined the high school, and they all played their junior high years. Freshman Maya Toliver, has stuck out the most because last year she was nominated for the junior high all-state team two years in a row, and she had a chance to play varsity for most of her jr. high years. When asked how she felt about playing high school for the high school team, she said, “I am excited that I get the opportunity to play and be a part of this team with this group of girls. These next four years will be amazing and a great learning experience!”
This season also has some strong senior girls who will be playing for the team one last time. With this being said, it can be a roller coaster of emotions for the girls playing on the court one last time, whether it is scary, exciting, or even upsetting. Senior Amayah Doyle said, “Carterville has made such an astonishing impact in my life, and it is difficult to grasp that I will be leaving soon” about her final season.
The Carterville girls basketball team looks forward to a strong season with veteran leaders and hungry incoming freshmen looking to make an impact. This being said, this season will be a great one for the girls playing, fans, and students. The girls’ team will do their best to represent their school and make Lions fans proud as they did with fall sports. Good luck to our girls, their first game being played at home vs West Frankfort Redbirds. GO LIONS!
