The 2024-25 Stratford Girls Basketball Team holds the most promise of any that preceded it in recent memory. Six years ago, Coach Alexis Greene was hired as Head Coach. In 2021, she hired Coach Audrisa Harrison as the top assistant and was gifted a freshman point guard by the name of Rachel Ashby. That season the program made the postseason for the first time in ages. Harrison took the reins last year and went on to an even more successful postseason appearance, with then-Junior Ashby and then-freshman guard Tess Stephenson, who brought a new level of elevation, leading the way. This season a bevy of talented seniors look to lead a campaign to accomplish even more!

Game one began Friday night at home vs. Cy Woods, notably the day after Halloween. Ashby and Stephenson are absent until volleyball season ends. Seniors Megan Hallmark (guard), Kendall Davis (forward), and Layla Lloyd (forward) started, along with Sophomores Sophia Prejean and Riley O'Connor (guard). Cy Woods came out aggressive on defense. The Spartans were down 0-8 with 4:56 on the clock, when Senior forward Bella Perroni and Freshman guard Ava Gibson checked in. At the 3:58 mark, Gibson was fouled and scored the first Spartans' points of the season, knocking in two free throws. O'Connor was next, also dropping in two from the charity stripe, and it was 4-11. Cy Woods attacked with drives to the basket or found threes when the Spartans' defense sagged. The quarter ended with the score 5-16.

O'Connor found Davis at the top of the key, who then swished a three. Gibson converted two free throws, and it was 10-16. Gibson had a steal-and-score and it was 12-18. O'Connor penetrated and spied Senior forward Gretchen Loveless on the left block for an easy deuce, and it was 15-20 when the half ended.

The third quarter was like a typical Halloween movie, with the Spartans' teens running into danger instead of away from it. It did not go well for them. Throughout the game both teams traded turnovers like candy after trick-or-treating. O'Connor hit Davis in the middle of the paint, who fed Loveless for a bucket. That was all they could muster offensively. The quarter ended 17-31.

Gibson dropped in a running floater along the right baseline to make it 20-31 early in the final quarter. Lloyd scored off an out-of-bounds play. She scored again on a drive, score-and-foul. She made the free throw, and it was 25-36. Perroni, whose father played on the defensive line at Texas A&M, delivered a block in the final minute that leveled her opponent and might have been felt all the way to College Station. The final was 25-38.

Gibson led with nine points plus five rebounds. Lloyd and Loveless each scored five points. O'Connor had five rebounds and seven steals.

Coach Harrison rotated players in and out, substituting freely. It was not an approach of playing the five players most likely to win the game, but a deliberate decision for everyone to shake off rust, get their first minutes of Varsity play in the new season, and assess their performance. One key takeaway was, with an experienced team poised for good things, it was O'Connor (So) and Gibson (Fr), who stood out. They played with confidence and poise, while attacking on both ends of the court. Until Ashby and Stephenson return, the team will look to find its footing, improve, and await their complete unveiling. When they are all together, it will be formidable with the knowledge that talent abounds up and down the age brackets, providing a deep bench plus a glimpse into the future of the program. The next game is Tuesday, November 5 at Heights.