As of Dec. 18, the girls basketball team has an overall record of 8-3, with a majority of the wins ending in a double digit lead.

The Indians had a busy first week, as they played four games at the Fenton High School Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament which spanned from Nov. 14 to Nov. 20.

With a new varsity coach, Megan Molloy, the Indians had a strong beginning to their season, winning the tournament after defeating three of their four opponents. If there were to be a tie in the tournament, the winner would be determined by point differential. Lopsided victories over Elgin, 70-27, and Fenton, 73-34, really helped the team stroll to victory.

The team’s only loss was against Addison Trail by a score of 34-33.

The previous varsity coach, Coach Ulmer, is not coaching this year because she was on a maternity leave.

“Coach Ulmer is still part of this program,” Molloy said. “She comes to practice and games whenever she can. She loves this sport and team too much to not be part of i‎t and we are grateful for that.”

Molloy has coached for Lane for six years. This is her first year being the head coach at the varsity level.

“My first year I started as LTAC and helped out with freshmen,” Molloy said. “Then JV head coach for three years, and assistant for varsity last year.”

For Molloy, the transition from JV to Varsity was not as difficult as it would have been if she was unfamiliar with the program.

“Knowing the girls, program, and coaching staff has been immensely helpful in taking over the program,” Molloy said. “These girls trust me and that’s everything; we all know we have the same goals for this year.”

Building on the trust that the team has had this season is a great advantage. The coach-player trust has helped the team through the season so far, according to guard Rosalia Pimentel, Div. 873.

“She’s really helped boost our confidence and trust amongst each other, knowing that we can play with the level of competition in this conference, and I think we’ve shown that through the first few games,” Pimentel said.

Point guard Yesenia Rodriguez, Div. 869, has known Molloy for close to five years. Rodriguez is confident Molloy has a few tips and tricks that can help the team this season.

“She played basketball in college so I think she brings new plays and drills that she ran in college,” Rodriguez said. “Having these at practice can put us ahead of most schools because they don’t get exposed to drills ran at the collegiate level.”

With lots of experience to her name at many levels, Molloy looks to continue to guide the team to victories.

“I know that my basketball experience, even in college, lacked working on my athletic skills,” said Molloy. “Basketball isn’t just ‘X’s and O’s’ you have to be stronger, faster, better. I tell my girls I want them to be complete athletes.”