The girls basketball team is ready for another season of high expectations and have already landed a top five ranking in the state.

These girls are no strangers to success, winning the conference the last 10 years with a runner-up finish in 2017. Last season, the girls finished the season at a record of 30-3 winning the Southwestern Conference and the regional championship but lost in the sectional game to Rock Island.

While the team did lose some seniors last year, they still have players like senior Maria Smith and Quierra Love. Love was an all-state selection last year and has already committed to SIUC.

“We lost a good group of kids. We have some shoes to fill. We return a lot and have quite a bit of varsity experience back,” coach Lori Blade said to The Intelligencer.

Love outlined the teams goals simply.

“Work hard, get better and enjoy the season,” Love said.

Love, who Blade described as a player who has speed and can get herself into “another gear” is always putting up double digit performances, all while chasing the teams steal record, collecting 99 last year alone.

The goals are different with Smith though. She may have committed for softball but still has unfinished business this season regarding basketball.

“I think we will go pretty far into the postseason and I have high expectations regarding state,” Smith said.

This girls team is ready for any challenge that comes to them and has already started the season fast, coming out with a quick 5-0 record and as stated before, has already earned themselves a top five ranking in the state.

“The teams goals are to just move forward every day,” Smith said “the wins don’t matter. What matters is postseason, so we are just trying to grow together.”