As football season comes to a close, basketball season kicks into high gear. The Lady Raider’s season started Nov. 8 at Randall in what has long been known as the “House of Doom.”  The team lost their first game to Frenship; however, they remain optimistic for future games.

“We plan to make it to the regional tournament and hopefully go further than that,” senior Macayla Warren said. “Our end goal is to make it to state.”

The captains of the team are seniors Claire Headings, Macayla Warren and Cassidy Beck.

“(We) hope to make it to state,” Beck said. “If not state, then at least the furthest we’ve been in a while.”

The team is currently facing a losing record of 5-6, and the captains are looking to make improvements on individuals’ skills, communication and consistency.

“We need to improve on always looking to score and making the right decision,” Beck said. “Whether that be the right time to shoot, or the right time to pass, and the correct pass to make. We also need to work on our defense. It’s way better than it’s been in the past, but there’s still lots of room for improvement.”

Both Warren and Beck specified “consistency” as a skill the team needs to work on.

“We can play really good one day and sometimes fall off another day,” Warren said.

Many players have experienced that the more fun they have, the more successful of a game they play.

“My favorite part of the sport is all the relationships you build and all the memories you make,” Beck said. “Every time we’re all together there’s a different feeling I have. I feel close to all the underclassmen, and (when I was) an underclassman I never felt like they do now. This team holds something special, but that something special isn’t determined yet.”

Warren said her favorite thing about being a part of the team is that the team dynamic is different than any other team she has been on in the past.

“Everyone is so excited for everyone when they do something good and we are always encouraging each other after a mistake,” Warren said. “We got a compliment from a coach in Frisco saying it’s so much fun to watch us play because we work so hard, but we have fun while doing it. That’s all I could ask for in a team.”