This past August, three months before the official start of the high school girls basketball season, I received a text from Stevie Jones, the head coach of the AMHS girls basketball program, saying “will you be ready for when winter comes knocking at your door?”

Winter, i.e. the basketball season, has arrived. And the AMHS girls basketball team is ready to dominate the 3A league. With high hopes to make it to state playoffs, our preseason training began in September. I was only able to attend one session, stationed in the Bonds-Wilson student weight room, and the day after it was hard for us gym rats to walk. 

Nevertheless, tryouts, holding a record turnout of over thirty girls, officially started our season. Out of them emerged the 2021 Varsity roster – Anne Young (’22), Lucy Manuel (’22), McKenna Ronchetto (’22), Kate Walldorf (’22), Lulu Grubb (’22), Chloe Wren (’22), Ashley Windham (’22), Kate Gieg (’23), Livia Carroll (’23), Abby Brauchle (’24), Cliffie Manuel (’24),

Holly Manning (’24), Caroline Uram (’24), Grace Reuben (’24), and Evie Walldorf (’25). Our team managers are Ella Chapman (’23) and Caroline Foreman (’24).

A new addition this year to the team was a garden gnome holding a basketball, purchased from Home Goods. After much debate, he is now called BG. And what does BG stand for? Come join Varsity Girls Basketball and find out. This season we are trying to establish him as an object that sits on the side lines and brings good luck (the fact that this is exactly what the girls soccer team has been doing with the chicken “Po” for many years is a coincidence). We are also trying to be “chocolate milk fast,” inspired by the fact the girls soccer team drinks chocolate milk after games.

So far, we have had two scrimmages, and one tournament. The first scrimmage, versus Cathedral Academy, was rough before we even arrived at the gym. Boarding the bus, we assumed our ETA would be well before the start of the game, located at the Cathedral Academy, ten minutes away from AMHS. However, the correct address was confused with a St. John’s Cathedral in the 29401 zip code, in the opposite direction. After an hour and a half commute we arrived. After a brief JV game (where the Raptors came out on top), Varsity unfortunately was defeated. The second scrimmage, both JV and Varsity beat Burke High School. (Thank you Mr. Cosgrove for making an appearance!) While both were non-region games, we unofficially boasted a 1-1 record.

To start Thanksgiving break, we attended the Charleston Math and Science annual tournament. Our first game was an intense match up with Cane Bay, a 5A school with a player ranked in the top 10 players in South Carolina. We did lose, but our next game, versus Charleston Collegiate, was a win. Now 2-2, we faced Lucy Beckham last Friday. Coming into this game, we really wanted to put them in their place. A number of our players were livid after Lucy Beckham’s request was honored to move our first Friday night game with them (it would’ve been this Friday, December 10th) to a Thursday night. We were counting on a packed birdcage. Then, Coach Jones’ Hudl film picking up a few Beckham players calling us “garbage.” With evidence of live trash talk, we needed to come out on top. Pulling up to the Lucy Beckham campus (one that includes TWO gyms), we were all in shock at the discrepancies between two CCSD 3A schools. Nevertheless, we proceeded to not be intimidated by the abundance of Moultrie middle schoolers that flocked to the bleachers, the total lack of a senior class, and the giant real life tiger eyes on the walls of the gym. After a tough game, we lost. But we were not discouraged. In our next game against St. John’s high school we prevailed with a score of 50-23.

The schedule for the upcoming week has three games down for the team – Monday (12/13) @ 6:30pm v. West Ashley at AMHS, Wednesday (12/15) @ 6:30pm v. Lowercountry Leadership at AMHS, Friday v. Ashley Ridge @ 6:30pm at Ashley Ridge.