The University of Dallas women’s basketball team is composed mostly of freshmen, making the team very young and full of potential. With 12 new freshmen players, the team has lots of experience to gain and have already shown much improvement from the beginning of their pre-season until now, specifically in their improvement against a friendly scrimmage against University of Texas at Dallas.
Tessa Hastings, a freshman business major and #21, said that she was very proud of the progress between the team’s first and second scrimmage.
“We just kind of completely turned it around,” shared Hastings, “I was really proud of the team for being able to do that like in the span of a week. Just because the competition was much better our second scrimmage, and we came out and we stuck with it, and we played really well.”
The women’s basketball head coach, Bri Calver, shared her excitement for what the team can accomplish this season. Her hope for the team is to make it to the conference tournament. Calver emphasized that the team’s strengths are speed and in-game IQ.
“Honestly, even though we’re young, we’re good in a game situation and at making decisions from a basketball standpoint,” Calver said.
Aside from the raw talent that these women possess, the strong bond they have already developed is translating into their performance on the court. With their practice schedule, conditionings, study sessions and team bonding activities, the women on the team spend a lot of time together.
Jill Gettman, a freshman business and art major and #10, said, “I loved coming in and having automatic best friends and, you know, just like any family, we have our ups and downs, but we’re all there for each other.”
Some of their bonding activities included their Halloween party and their regular coffee dates at Cap Bar or to lunch. For their individual quality time, the team focuses on bonding with teammates they don’t know well yet.
Some of their bonding activities included their Halloween party and their regular coffee dates at Cap Bar or to lunch. For their individual quality time, the team focuses on bonding with teammates they don’t know well yet.
Caroline Croft, a freshmen biology major and #11, shared, “We all have the same goals and that helps with everybody wanting to achieve those goals. So, we all bonded.”
With the basketball program in a rebuilding stage, these freshmen are greatly contributing to the enhancement of the team.
Jordan Gillespie, a freshman biology major and #22, shared her goal for this season, “I just want the program to grow. I want the freshmen to carry on the program since there’s a lot of us.”
As the growth of the program continues, the players themselves want to develop their own individual skills and offer support to their other teammates.
Ashley Hall, a freshman biology major and #15, said “Personally, I just want to be that teammate that any of my teammates can come to, to help them and I’m just going to be that encouragement to them and help them push themselves to be their best.”
Nora Aigberadian, a freshman biology major and #23, shared that her personal goal is “just to do well and get more playing time as the season goes on and …to have fun.”
Their season officially starts with an away game at St. Louis on Nov. 11. From there, Calver said, “Once we hit the ground rolling, we don’t really slow down.”
To achieve their goals, they must finish in the top six to make it to the conference tournament, so let’s wish these ladies good luck and make sure to support the team throughout their season!
