BY NICOLE PARTIPILO, Reporter

With their goals set high, Coach Ernie Colombe, along with the girl’s varsity basketball team is preparing for their first tournament on Nov. 17.

The team’s goal for the season is to win conference and move onto regionals. The team practices six days a week for about two and a half hours.

“Conference is tough in girls basketball; every night is a challenge,” Colombe said.

The team’s practices consist of running through plays, extreme amounts of conditioning and running, as well as shooting practice, according to seniors Allison O’Herron and Emma Bradford.

“The team is working hard and we’re prepared for the upcoming season,” Bradford said.

Bradford predicts an advantage this year, being last year the team had two seniors that graduated and were younger than most other schools.

“You build upon success,” Colombe said.

According to O’Herron, the team has really good chemistry.

“Juniors and Seniors work really well together,” O’Herron said.

Colombe says he enjoys being able to connect with the players and help them reach their goals.

Both the coaches and the players are working hard in preparation for the Kaneland vs. DeKalb game at DeKalb High School on Dec. 11. Bradford said she is counting down the days until the game.

“[It is] always the biggest game, but we think we can actually beat them this year,” O’Herron said.

The girls are looking forward to a very good overall season.

“[I am looking forward to] working together with the team and going further than we did last year,” O’Herron said.

O’Herron also said that the DeKalb team has been her biggest rival since sixth grade.

The team made it into the Sweet 16 last year and have been training hard every day since. According to Bradford, their season last year was a really good accomplishment.

“We’ve been training hard all offseason,” Senior Sarah Grams said. “We wanted to start as soon as the season ended last year.”

Now the team is pushing to get even further than they did last year, working hard in practices and not giving up.

The game can get pretty tough, but in the end all of the hard work and effort put in by the players is worth it to the team.

“The game can be intense, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s the one sport you can take out your anger,” Grams said. “Practice is about having a good time and getting better while you are having fun.”

The team is ready for the upcoming season and looking forward to their first tournament and the games to follow.