Basketball season has begun, and the hoopers are ready to get on the court.
The University Academy girls basketball players have come to play their hardest and show off their basketball skills.
Last year was a solid season for the Lady Gryphons. They didn’t necessarily get the finish that they wanted, but the girls started off strong, and won some tournament championships.
Head coach Christian Jackson said they “were not able to capture a district title, but I would still call it a good year for the program with the amount of wins we got and the development we saw from some girls.”
Last year was Coach Jackson’s first season in the head coaching role at UA, and now he’s ready to continue building.
Although the girls’ basketball team has been successful the last several years, this is a new season. In order for them to make it to state this year, they have to show the skills they practice on the court during games. They also must communicate on the court and work together.
There are four returning starters this year, and three of them are seniors. The other five team members are newcomers to the team.
Each player has different goals she wants to accomplish. UA senior basketball player Anonda Ford has ambitions she’s striving for this year and maybe even in college.
Ford said, “My goals for the season ahead are to win as many games as I can, hit my personal points goal, make history and also WIN STATE.”
Now that is a very big goal for someone who has been playing for a while now, but Ford said she and her teammates are willing to work hard to accomplish big things.
Ford is an encouraging leader on the team. Not only is she an important role model, but she also has established herself as one of the top players the school has seen. She scored 1,000 points by the end of her sophomore year, and Ford was also the first girls all-state player in UA history last season.
Coach Aaron Clark is an assistant girls’ basketball coach, and he and Coach Jackson have goals for this season including success in the postseason. But Coach Clark is also focused on improvement from last year.
He said, “I want to have the girls mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for most situations in a game. … The last goal is to develop the younger players to be able to take bigger roles within the next few years.”
The team’s first official game is tomorrow against St. Teresa’s Academy at 6:30 p.m. at UA. As the season progresses, there will be plenty of games and four tournaments—at Summit Christian Academy, Butler High School, Lathrop High School and Heritage Christian Academy. According to the University Academy website, there will be six home games.
Ford said Gryphon fans can look forward seeing some new faces on the court, and she said the UA community should make sure to come out and support the team.
