Girls’ Basketball Preview

by Tori Doscotch

Girls basketball season has finally arrived. The two captains, Taylor Baird and Brinlee Bauman, are ecstatic for this season to begin along with the rest of the girls and coaches.

Senior Taylor Baird, who plays center, will be playing her last high school basketball season. She says that “the season will be a lot different from last because the team is down four starters due to graduation, so we have a new set of girls that are going to be out on the court. It may take some time to get used to playing with each other but we’re determined to adjust in any way needed.” Baird hopes to have a successful season and follow in the footsteps of the past Princeville girls’ basketball teams and make it to the Sweet Sixteen once again.

Junior Brinlee Bauman, who plays forward and is a guard, exclaimed that she’s very excited for this season because the team has “a lot of speed this year!” She also stated that it will be “the first year that all of the girls play together as a team since the third grade.”

The basketball team expects to have a great year with their two coaches, Coach Gross and Coach Baker. Head Coach Gross is not only a Peoria Sports Hall of Fame inductee, but he has also taken eight different teams to state and won two state championships. He has made Princeville girls basketball history by helping the girls push their way into the Sweet Sixteen the past two years.

Assistant Coach Baker has also been a big attribute to the program, and has helped Coach Gross for the past two years increase the girls winning average from 5 games per season to 30 games per season.

With the new talent and experienced coaches, Princeville girls basketball is looking toward a promising season.