The girls basketball team is looking to rebound off of last season’s success.

Despite two important players graduating last year and a relatively young team, the team has benefited from strong leadership on the court. The Bison opened the season with wins over Richmond Heights and Villa Angela-St. Joseph and currently have a 2-1 record.

“The fact that important seniors graduated last year has not changed our future,” captain Aryana Jackson said. “Filling their roles was not as difficult as we [expected], and we are still expecting to go far in the postseason.”

The Bison are looking to build on last season’s success, which was one of the most successful in the team’s history.

“We had a really successful season last year,” head coach Michael Coreno said. “[We won our] second district title in a row, the Chagrin Valley Conference league championship and were regional finalists for the second year in a row.”

“Overall I think I played well,” Jackson said. “The team was great. We worked together and tried our hardest to make it as far as we could.”

“We had a great team full of talented Basketball players,” junior Jada Stevens said. “We all brought a lot to the table so when we put it together we did great things.”

Last season ended in an epic game against Smithville in the Regional Championship finals. The Bison looked on track to make it to the state final four before Smithville made a last second three-point shot that won them the game with a score of 38-36.

“The team responded in heartbreak,” Jackson said. “But that loss motivates us to work harder and gives us the drive to make it to states.”

“[It] motivated us because we were so close and we felt like that game was ours,” Stevens said. “[We] worked hard to get that far, so this year we will work even harder to get past that spot.”

While the team is proud of their accomplishments, they are still mindful of acheiving their goals for this season.

“We want to figure out how to get to the state final four, so we’ve been looking to take that extra step,” Coreno said. “Ultimately it’s about trying to win a state championship.”

“My goals are to play smarter, improve my footwork, and be more consistent with foul shooting.” Stevens said. “Our main goal is to get to states”

Leadership is also an important aspect of the team to develop for coach Coreno and Jackson.

“[Jackson’s] work ethic day in and day out is a great example for everyone else,” Coreno said. “Natalie Hill, Jada Stevens and Maurina Nunn have also set a great example because they already have our work ethic ingrained in them from last season.”

“As a senior I’d like to provide the leadership for my team and guide them to states,” Jackson said. “As a team we have grown tremendously by working together and spending more time with each other.”

Practices have been focused on building the skills of the youthful team. Shooting drills and conditioning take precedence over game play.

“We do a lot of ball handling drills,” Coreno said. “Only about 25% of practice is game preparation.”

The team looked crisp in it’s opening game against Richmond Heights. The Bison led 33-29 at half time before a sudden burst of intensity to start the third quarter led to 13 straight points. Hill, Jackson and freshman Taylor Royster formed an aggressive offense. The trio combined for 52 points.

“As of right now I’m proud of where we’re at,” Coreno said.