With a new coach, only seven players on the roster, and determination to compete in every game, the Clover Hill Women’s Basketball team is making a new identity for themselves. Despite their 4-9 record, players are saying that the progress is there and their mindset is different. 

Abigail Frias, a senior on the team, recognizes this shift in the team from last year.

“We’re winning a lot more games that we didn’t used to win before,” Frias said.

The team’s early win against James River showed their strong performance and players showed proof of what they can accomplish this year with the team’s dedication to practicing hard every single day.

“The James River game was pretty good and hard work led to that success,” Frias said.

With only seven players on the team and very few JV players to pull up, the team has had to adjust physically and mentally to adapt to this disadvantage. 

“A lot more running because we have a lot less players, I feel like we have more fight so it helps us win difficult games,” Frias said.

Staying motivated is a constant focus for the team, and they refuse to stop giving it everything they have even when it is rough.

“Keep up the motivation and keep practicing together and all being at practice, there’s only eight of us. We always keep going when we are losing bad,” Frias said.  

The biggest change the team has had this year is the new coach, Coach Loveless. Her communication and guidance has helped the team fix issues and help them grow as a team.

“We kind of now are more focused on trying to listen to the coaches when they have helpful guidance to give, so we are a lot more malleable,” Frias said.

Even with the team’s progress, players say the atmosphere in the gym is still underwhelming, and more fans in the bleachers would bring up the team’s spirit and energy a lot. 

“Not really, I mean we occasionally have a little group in the corner, but I guess it helps with the spirit. It would be a lot more fun [with more fans],” Frias said.