This season, the varsity girls basketball team has experienced some setbacks due to some of their starting players being injured. The team has only secured 1 victory in 10 games this season, a disheartening outcome for some of the players.
With playoffs approaching in a few months, some players are nervous in light of the team’s recent performance.
Shooting guard Rania Khan, a sophomore, feels that the injuries have taken a large toll on the team, especially given the already limited roster.
“If we’re already at 13 players, but then we have three down, it makes a huge difference, especially in the way we operate during practice and stuff,” Rania said. “Since we don’t have enough people, we can’t even run certain drills.”
Among those sidelined is sophomore Nanak Ofori-Mante, who hyperextended her knee and tore her meniscus last year in practice. She had meniscus surgery in June.
As a point guard, Nanak played closely with seniors Alex Giles and Lucy Aronsohn last year, developing a strong connection with the two. Forced to sit on the sideline, Nanak feels her absence has disrupted the team’s chemistry and performance on the court.
“Me, Lucy and Alex were kind of the ‘back-court,’ so we have this kind of chemistry together and feed off of each other’s energy,” Nanak said. “Now we’re missing a piece, and it’s an adjustment.”
Both Rania and Nanak highlighted the physical nature of basketball as a reason for the team’s large number of injuries..
“Basketball is the most contact sport we have at Lab, since we don’t have football,” Rania said. “You’re all the way in each other’s faces, unlike volleyball or whatever, where you’re a bit more spread out. So obviously that’s going to lead to injuries, and because it’s so fast-paced.”
Nanak also addressed their lack of recovery time and the rapid turnaround between games as a potential cause for the frequency of their team’s injuries.
“Basketball is very intense and we have a lot of back-to-back games and it takes a toll on our bodies,” Nanak said. “Maybe we’re just trying to get home and do our homework, so we don’t take care of our bodies. I feel like we need to take the time to ice, recover, eat well and then play in our next game.”
