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The girls’ basketball team started its season with a 4-1 record. Some team members attribute the team’s positive start to a new style of play, implemented by coach Brian Massie.

From these early season games, some players can see the difference in play from previous years, according to junior captain Mara Henderson.

“The biggest thing that is different is our newly found energy because of our new coach,” Henderson said.

Massie has been the assistant coach for two years and his focus this year as head coach is to change the team’s dependency on set plays and focus more on transitions. He said he believes this will help the team function better as a whole.

“We are trying to focus on the defense being able to transition into the offense,” Massie said. “We want to have more fluidity in our transitions and play more basketball, rather than trying to have only set plays.”

By improving defense and focusing on transitions, the team has more opportunities to score, which has helped the team win more games, according to senior captain Autumn Ballesteros.

“I think [the new style of play] has helped us win, we have a different outlook, which helps us push the ball forward and score more,” Ballesteros said.

The team members hope to keep improving on their skills and style of play against Academy of Holy Angels. This will be a challenging game for the team, according to Henderson.

“I think we can beat Holy Angels if we come to the game ready to play with the right mindset that night,” Henderson said.

Ballesteros is looking further ahead and thinks the team will continue getting positive results.

“I think that we will stay a competitive team throughout the season and we can rekindle the reputation of girls’ basketball,” Ballesteros said.

The team plays its next game at 7 p.m. Dec. 18. at Academy of Holy Angels High School.