The squeaking of stylish kicks scuffing the floor, the flick of a wrist, a decision made in an instant, the swish of a ball through the net, followed by a quick sigh of relief before rushing back to position: all familiar sights and sounds from the court. After months of waiting, the Cannon Falls girls basketball team is finally reuniting on the court. With the season beginning on November 11, much earlier than previous seasons, the basketball team had more time to prepare for their upcoming games. Usually games don’t start until early December, but this year things are a little different; there were two games played in November. Having such an early start is a great opportunity for the team to get a feel for where they stand as they take the court.

The girls’ first game was on Thursday, November 21. They took on Schaeffer Academy and walked off the court with their chins up, after a first win of the season. The Bombers came out strong and triumphed with a final score of 57-34. Junior, Camryn Schroeder explains that she feels the first game went as expected. “It wasn’t terrible but there is definitely work that needs to be done,” stated Schroeder. She also revealed how “pumped” she is to get to play with friends that she has been with throughout the years and have always pushed each other to their full potentials. Having a fairly large amount of girls who have played together throughout the years is extremely beneficial, but there will also be plenty of challenges.

One new challenge for girls this season is the change of divisions. The Bombers have switched from the blue division to the gold division, a more competitive one. Before the transition, the girls were playing smaller schools in the conference that were a similar matchup to themselves, but this year, in the gold, it will definitely be more of a challenge. The teams in the gold are bigger schools, but even though the games will be noticeably harder, having the opportunity to play these teams in our conference twice will be beneficial for the girls. Playing more competitive teams will push the players to play at a new level.

Head coach of four years, Samantha McCamy, is looking forward to the season. She has plans on making the season the best it can be and is ready to tackle anything. Not only is she looking forward to the season as a whole, but she is also hoping to be able to play all five levels this season. This means that there would be a team for all the grades that would all play one night, from seventh grade all the way up to the varsity level. McCamy explains that now having enough girls to fill all five levels, it will help give more girls an opportunity to play and the time to grow. Along with the goal of playing five levels this season, the team has also created goals on and off the court, from coming in with confidence every game to stats that can be measured each game. The girls are taking on the Goodhue wildcats on Thursday, December 5, and are hopeful to come out with another early season victory.