The sun still hasn’t risen as the Lady Mustangs sprint up and down the basketball court in one of their early morning, preseason open gym practices. Despite losing two of its best players Holly Lueken and Maggie Greco, the team is concentrating on conditioning to prepare them for what the girls hope will be a rewarding winter season.

After guiding the team to a conference record of 10-2 last season, head girls basketball coach Lyndsie Long believes that last year’s seniors left a positive impact on their teammates. Now, there is an opportunity for all members of this year’s team to step into their crucial leadership roles.

“[This team’s dynamic] is a lot different. We lost our captains and two four-year varsity players, so we’re just trying to, as a coaching staff, keep encouraging seniors, juniors, sophomores — doesn’t really matter — to step up and be a leader. To be as successful as we want to be, people have to step out of their comfort zone a little bit,” Long said.

Last season, senior Brianna Andresen especially looked up to former captain Holly Lueken as a role model on the team. She believes that this season’s leaders should follow Lueken’s ways.

“[Lueken] was a really good team captain. She really pushed everybody so much, and she kind of set the best example for everybody now for this year,” Andresen said.

Junior Meghan Stapleton has been a member of the girls varsity basketball team throughout her entire high school career. As one of the key returners in this group, she projects a positive outlook on how the team is transitioning from last season to this year’s team.

“People are getting along and encouraging each other, and it’s really fun to see people take new responsibilities [with the team],” Stapleton said.

Now that preseason practices have concluded and tryouts have been held, the focus of the season has been entirely placed upon making final preparations before games take full-flight. One of the main goals of the season is to develop through rigorous training.

“I think the big thing that we’re going to strive for is being the most conditioned team that we face,” Long said.

The girls will have the opportunity to prove their skills to their opponents over the course of the next few months, displaying growth from last season. Developing a solid defense will open up opportunities to score on offense and allow this team to remain competitive within the conference and beyond.