The Girls Varsity Basketball team has a game against Grandview today, Wednesday, Feb 11, in Smoky’s own West Gym at 7:00pm.

“The audience can expect us to put everything we have on the court,” states Junior Vanessa Ruby, who plays number 13 guard on the team. “We don’t have weaknesses. We are all strength to keep moving forward…our weakness would be if we didn’t feel we got better that day.”

The previous Girls Varsity Basketball game was a 45-35 win against Overland. As posted on the team’s website, the group has gone 70 days since its first game, with practice normally two hours each day Monday through Saturday. The Varsity Head Coach, Andrea Gross, is new to the Smoky team this year after having taught 11 years at the collegiate level.

“Today’s game is just like every other game and day for us,” Coach Gross explains. “Our focus is on us and improving each and every play…We use every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow both individually and as a team.”

During the game, those attending can expect to see Smoky’s team working hard to protect their court, particularly through defense and rebounds. According to Coach Gross, the team heavily focuses on rebounding and defense during practice since defense is the foundation of their program.
“We work hard at practice, harder than any other team out there. We know everything about the other team before we play them,” Ruby exclaims.

Photo Credit: Bri Hernandez