The Season Starts with a Swish

Kassy Steinkamp

At 8 p.m. Friday night, 20 November, the girls’ varsity basketball team began to warm-up for their imminent game against the Ex-Nationals  team, music blasting, crowd gathering, and adrenaline pumping.

The first game of the season for the girls' team consisted of solid skills, intense running, and an unexpected CB asking. Three weeks into the season, the girls' varsity team played the Ex-Nationals, a team made up of former national players ranging from 20-40 years of age, who may have lacked some in speed but made up for it in experience. At the beginning of the game, the Ex-Nationals team posed a threat and challenged the girls to run faster, pass smarter, move quicker. But as soon as Sarah Tan (12) swished a 2-point shot, the girls were filled with a fiery desire to win the game. Within minutes, the girls pulled ahead and held the Ex-Nationals' score at a distance until the buzzer blared at the end of second quarter.

During halftime, both teams jogged to their allotted benches, grabbed their water bottles, and sat down, catching their breath, huffing and puffing. Suddenly, familiar bass notes began to play over the loud speakers. The song, "Funky Town" by Bruno Mars resonated throughout the gym as the weary players, and Coach Steinkamp, jumped up with renewed energy to dance to the middle of the court. Annabelle Teoh (9) approached Nicholas Khor (9) with the letters “CB” written on a sign. After a joyful cheer, Khor nodded his head and the two hugged. The team walked back to the bench to attempt to refocus on the task at hand: maintaining their lead in the game.

The gym shook with excitement as the girls continued to play hard, displaying various plays and new skills. During the second half, every player contributed to the game whether it was making 3-point (Tayah Lee, 12) or 2-point shots (Charlotte Combrink, 12), hustling the ball (Daniella Combrink, 10), or aggressively getting rebounds (Mersades Zimmer, 11). The girls’ basketball team even had a guest star, Elisabeth Brokaw (12), who ran up from the drama performance, Wedding Belles, grey hair and all, in order to play a few minutes in the game.

Despite this game being an exciting, different activity for the Dalat community to watch on a Friday night, it was also a learning experience. Playing another team that exploits their weakness and shows their strengths is quite beneficial for the girls' basketball team. Tayah Lee (12) summed it up. “The first game of the season went much better than all of us expected, and it was great to see our team quickly fall into the rhythm of our game. It showed us what our strengths were, but also what our weaknesses were--the main one being conditioning.”

The season started off with a swish, sparking an intensity and ferocity within the players to beat the Ex-Nationals. After beating the opposing team 61-36, the crowd and players packed up their things, deserting the gym to go home and rest. The players walked away with a smile on their tired faces and high hopes for the rest of the season.

Sarah Tan (12) remarked, “It was great that everyone on the team got to play and gain more experience, which was a wonderful start to the season. I am so excited to see what we can accomplish this year!”