As the 2023 winter sports season began, the Marshfield High School girls basketball team started off the season ready to compete. Last year, they were ranked 2nd in the league with 7 wins and 1 loss; they placed 4th in state.
“The goal this season is to make it to the state championship game,” said senior Paige Macduff, who’s been on Marshfield’s team since freshman year.
The Pirates have begun their playoff journey, practicing everyday after school from 3:45 until 6 p.m. In a usual practice, the team starts off with some shooting drills, then they continue warming up their layups and ball handling, after that they will then go over some defense and offensive plays. To put all their practicing together they finish off their training day with a scrimmage and apply what they have learned.
Head coach Doug Miles is also a teacher at MSH. He has been head coaching the girls varsity basketball team for several years, taking teams to district and state level games throughout his coaching career. This year, the players look toward his experience to get them to the next level.
“He spends a lot of time on defense and he also likes to run the ball a lot,” senior Kaleigh England said. “I really like this type of play because I like to play fast.”
The team started off their season with a jamboree tournament, which consists of playing three short games against teams in the area. The Pirates started off with Bandon, winning the game. Here, they were able to put all their practicing and hard work to the test as well as letting the fans see what the team has to offer this year.
Following that game, the Pirates played Newport, where they were able to come out on top.
“We used this game as a way to improve our man defense and figure out new player rotations,” said senior Gracie Peach. “Overall, we did well as a team and got a win to help kick off our season.”
One thing that every team has to be ready for is to lose players. Every season, basketball players will graduate, leaving their high school team behind.
“It feels different because it’s my last year playing and I’ve had more experience,” said England, one of the team’s point guards.
Next year’s team will have to adapt and be ready for this change. Every new season the team will have a new group of seniors ready to play their last year of basketball. For seniors, they are usually the teammates at the top of their game.
“It is a lot more pressure because you are the senior and it’s your last year playing,” Macduff said.
