The 2022-23 girls basketball team took the court for the final time last Tuesday at Jersey Village, but what they found was a football game. The Falcons were vying for playoff seeding and it showed in their aggressiveness. The refs seemed to be on board. The Spartans had trouble converting shots early on before Senior forward Maggie Parker created her own and knocked down a three midway through the first quarter. Sophomore point guard Rachel Ashby went kamikaze and attacked the entire defense on a drive and score. Senior guard JaKyla Cheeves made a drive of her own and scored. Sophomore guard Ella O'Connor found Cheeves for a three. Sophomore forward Kendall Davis grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in. But that was a rare offensive rebound for the Spartans. The Falcons did a great job of keeping Stratford off the boards and they led 25-13 at the half. Cheeves scored three times in the second half, with Ashby getting the assist on two of them. But they didn't muster much more on the offensive end and their season ended much sooner than they were expecting.

Next year the Spartans will lose:

• Cheeves, the team's most consistent scorer and a solid defensive presence
• Lilah Epps, a versatile second teamer who brought speed and athleticism to create turnovers and stop scores at the basket
• Parker, a leader who could heat up quickly with her three's and used her height and experience down low to her advantage on rebounds and contested shots

The Spartans next year could return a lot of talent and the postseason will be a very reasonable goal:

• Ashby, the point guard who can shoot, dish, steal and is a multiplier in making the team better when on the court
• Davis, a tenacious rebounder and low post scorer
• O'Connor, a good ball-handler and shooter
• Forward Kendall Zoboroski, a multi-purpose threat who can score, rebound, and disrupt on defense
• Guard Ryen Greenwood, who can score and force turnovers
• Aria Taylor, a good shooter who has size, strength, and speed to be a force on both ends
• Forward Bella Perroni, who is athletic and strong and can rebound and score
• Forward Ella Pezzia plays with abandon and sacrifices her body for loose balls
• Guard Emma Adisa can handle the ball and shoot and is aggressive on defense
• Center Evynn Stallwitz, the Spartans tallest player who can score both inside and out
• Guard Julie Lee, the most diminutive but loves to attack and shoot