Julianna Allen, left, and Vanessa Sherwood defend against the Narraguagus offense during a home game on December 12. By Monique Labbe
Blue Hill—The George Stevens Academy girls basketball team is in a rut so far this season, starting out 0-4 and in the lower half of the Class C North Heal Point standings, but both the players and head coach Brandi Ensworth are working hard to turn that around in the next batch of games.
“This is a new team, with new strengths and new challenges,” said Ensworth. “The areas that we need to improve are fixable. This is a very motivated team that works and competes hard every day. We will keep grinding to reach our goals.”
The team has faced a tough schedule so far, and has gone up against veteran teams who have had plenty of experience playing at the varsity level for their respective programs. Playing against those teams has been helpful for the Eagle players, said Ensworth, because it has shown them the areas they need to improve on. Those areas have been a focus at the team’s practices.
With only a couple of games scheduled during the school’s holiday break, Ensworth said that week off from school is a good time to put in a few practices and get some quality on court time in.
“The more these girls play with each other, the more comfortable they get. Things start to come easier as they can anticipate each other’s movements better,” she said.
The Eagles are a young team this year, and introducing freshmen and players who have not had much experience at the varsity level can be tricky for a coach. Ensworth said it is about “slowing the game down for them” and getting them comfortable at that level.
“There are a lot of special players and talents on this team. As soon as we are able to relax and play without overthinking we will start to get the results we expect,” she said.
The team’s morale is high and the work ethic of the players has not suffered, which is a key to getting better as the season goes on. The Eagles will look to rebound in their next game, home against Sumner on December 21.
“Overall as a team we are excited to see what the second half will bring. This team has a lot of potential. It just comes down to how soon we can harness it,” said Ensworth.