The court is dark. The lights flicker on one by one as the girls enter the floor. Tryouts have been conquered, bodies have been beaten, and now it is time for the games to begin. The girls basketball season is just starting, but it will be one to remember.

Senior Emma Raup, a four-year varsity member, is taking the court for her final year as a Lady Spartan. She’s starting this season bursting with confidence, and excited for what’s to come.

“I’m feeling very confident. We have a deep team, we have a lot of players that can really play, so I’m feeling good about it,” Raup said.

The team this year has dropped in numbers, however members are hopeful that they will be just as successful, if not more than last year.

“Last year we had 11, and now this year we have 10. We have five seniors, and then everyone else is an underclassmen. We have one junior, and two freshmen, and two sophomores,” Raup said.

With so many seniors this year, the team can really benefit from their collective experience.

“Last year we had some people who could get some digits, and then this year it will be even better because our whole starting, probably like seven kids, can do really well,” Raup said.

Sophomore Hannah Currant is feeling optimistic about the upcoming season.

“I think we’ll do very well, and I think we’ll be faster this year than we were last year, we’ll be a faster team,” Currant said.

The team has been training over summer and the past school year to get to where they are today. They had a strict workout routine to prepare them physically and mentally for this season.

“We had workouts twice a week for two hours, and we did a lot of weight lifting so we got stronger,” Currant said.

With these workouts, the girls will be better equipped for going against other teams. In addition to the workouts, last year the girls had a new coach and new challenges.

“We had a new coach, so we had to adjust to her, and then overall, we did pretty decent. My sophomore year, we were 4 and 20 something, which was awful, and last year we shocked some teams with how much we had improved,” Raup said.

The team is hoping to improve their abilities and continue increasing their shock value as the season continues.

Catch the girls debut at their jamboree on Friday, Nov. 20.