The varsity girls basketball team took on the Oakton Cougars in the season opener Nov. 27  at home. With the graduation of four seniors the new team is working to weld together on the court going into the new season.

“Being our first game, there are always going to be bumps in the road but overall we got better working with each other as the game went on, ” returning sophomore Elizabeth Dufrane said.

Down 8-19 at the end of the half, they went into the locker room looking for a way to pull themselves together for the end of the game.

“In the beginning of the game we were not playing together, we weren’t feeding off of each other and that’s where we went wrong,” junior Mariane Auza said.

Leaving the locker room they came out, heads high, with a new plan heading into the second half. They took more open three’s and were more aggressive on defense, forcing three turnovers in the first five possessions. Three pointers by senior Kaela Moskowitz resulted in the third quarter being won by McLean, and a 16 point gain.  

“In the third quarter our offense changed and we were playing like I knew we could,” Auza said.

Unfortunately their efforts fell short of a win that night. However they will continue to work hard at practice and fix key mistakes.

“We plan have strong practices these next couple of days and to continue to grow together as a team and find the balance of our group,” Dufrane said.

Their next game is against Marshall on Dec. 5th at Marshall, where they hope to balance their record. The team looks forward to a winning season, and remain confident, despite their 33-49 loss.

“No team should doubt that we will be part of the [playoff] conversation this year,” Auza said.