The Bomber girl’s basketball team has played seven games so far in the season. Some resulted in tough losses with close scores and others, games to learn and grow from. The Bombers have fought hard every game. The girls continue to grow every time they are on the court, whether practicing or playing a game. The chemistry and connection all the girls have are amazing too.
Emma Templin is an eighth grader playing varsity. Her favorite part about basketball was when they started to see results. She stated, “We’ve had a rough start to the season, but we’ve been putting in the work at practice and have been looking to get better every day by learning and growing from our mistakes.” Templin is one of the youngest on the team along with Libby Sampson, Claire Meyers, and Indie Myrvold. The girl’s basketball team continues to grow with some of the youngest in the program on varsity and are hoping to get more girls to come out in the future. Templin believes the team’s chemistry is strong and everyone is getting to know and connect well.
“We are still learning to play together as such a young team, but we have great chemistry which makes this season super fun,” stated Avery Rustad. Rustad is a junior and a great leader as a captain this year. The girl’s basketball team has had some tough losses but made lots of progress and growth. When asked what the team’s goal is for the rest of the season, Rustad replied, “One goal that I think we have is better communication on the court, and other technical things like limiting turnovers, more aggressive defense, and breaking the press.” Rustad believes that her team will have so much more growth as the season goes on.
Anna Ritz is a junior captain and loves playing with her team. Though the losses have been hard, Ritz stated, “Compared to last year, we have been scoring more points per game, which is good; it is the first step to winning games.” When asked what she thinks her team could improve on she replied, “We need to improve our turnover rate. We have been turning the ball over a ton which gives the other team free points, so reducing our turnovers will help to keep the score closer and hopefully lead to some wins.”
Head Basketball Coach Joel Rustad said, “My favorite part about coaching girls basketball is the fun and energy the girls bring each day and practice. They don’t dwell on mistakes and always give great effort.” Coach Rustad teaches Phy Ed. at the Cannon Falls Elementary School. The team has come far because of him. A few of the bigger things they have improved on are staying calm and forcing the ball down the court while the other team is pressing. Coach Rustad mentioned he noticed that everyone is figuring out the roles that each player has to play in order for this team to win games and play their best basketball.
This will be a season to remember. With a team made up of eighth through eleventh graders, the 2023 team proves to be young. However, the girls are excited for a season full of learning and growth, both mentally and physically.
