With two state championship titles under their belt, the Geneva High School girls’ basketball team is beginning to enter their conference season. As tryouts are held this week, the girls get ready to put their best foot forward for the 2021-2022 season.

Senior athlete Bella Brown entered her fourth and final tryout for the girls’ basketball team this past Monday and is looking to have another successful season with her team.

She attended the first of her three-day tryout eager to begin the rigorous process.

“Tryouts are three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,” she said. “On the first day, we did a whole bunch of shooting, we scrimmaged, 1v1 and 2v2. We also had to keep track of all our points, how many free throws we made, and how many shots from different parts of the court we made. It’s really just seeing how capable you are of doing stuff when you are put under pressure and how you will perform.”

As Brown enters her fourth year playing under head coach, Sarah Meadows, she is hopeful to earn a spot on the varsity team.

“I think Meadows is looking for people who are coachable,… easy, and who will take criticism and apply it to the way they play,” she said. “She is looking for people who are hard-working straight off the bat… who are consistent, and who she can rely on in the game… she’s mainly looking for people who… genuinely have the desire to play.”

Additionally, girls’ basketball Team Manager, Anna Crosby, hopes that the team will become more effective communicators on the court this season.

“I think she [Sarah Meadows] just wants us all to communicate better and actually talk to each other and give each other input and be a more communicative team,” she said.

As a former GHS girls’ basketball athlete, Crosby will help support the team from the side lines this year. She aids the team by keeping track of the girls’ statistics throughout the season and helps them become stronger players. And though she is unable to play this year, she believes that the team will have a successful season.

“I think the girls are going to do very good this year because it is very spaced out on the talent, it’s kind of everywhere,” she said. “We want to at least get somewhere in playoff season because we never had a post season last year and I think we will definitely get to post season. We have a lot of really good girls on every level this year, so I think it’s really fun that we all can work together like junior, senior, sophomore, and freshman, and we will have a lot more fun because it’s very united and we are very structured.”

Aside from the team, both Crosby and Brown are excited to have successful senior seasons this winter.

“I am very excited because we are back to a normal year which means that we can actually have fans at the games which will be more fun and enjoyable as a season for all of us,” Crosby said.

In addition to the new permission of fans at their games, the girls look forward to all the festivities that are held for their senior year.

“I would really like to be able to participate in my senior night and get my blanket and my poster and have a junior give it to me,” Brown said.

Additionally, the seniors hold a lot of responsibility when it comes to team spirit and bonding.

“We get to pick all the gear; seniors are supposed to design it,” Brown said. “We get to pick what all the sweatpants, and jackets, and shirts look like. We get to pick the activity we go to… one year we did bowling, or laser tag, and then we did axe throwing, so this year we get to pick what we want to do.”

With all the excitement building, Brown and Crosby are not the only two looking forward to the upcoming girls’ basketball season. GHS students are eager to be back in the stands and watch their girls in action where they hopefully can bring home another State win.