This year’s 2019-2020 basketball teams have gotten off to an impressive start with junior varsity having 13 players and varsity having 12.

Varsity Coach Samantha Rossi and JV Coach Dennis O’Leary have been hard at work to motivate both their teams to work to the best of their abilities. Rossi has been working with the varsity team for seven years, but this is only her second year as head coach. This is O’Leary’s second year coaching JV basketball.

“I’m looking forward to watching these girls improve week by week, so they can all go to the next varsity level,” says O’Leary.

NDB’s annual Alumnae Game kicked off the season on Wednesday, November 27.

“It brings everyone together before a tough season and makes the nervousness before all our other games go away,” junior and varsity team member Mia Adao said.

The final score for this year’s alumnae game was 44-35 with current students earning their win.

Freshman Molly Phan played especially hard during this game, taking and making almost all of her shots.

“It was fun to play against people who are so much older than me and really enjoyed being a part of the annual tradition of the alumnae game,” she said.

“Basketball is an amazing opportunity to get to know my new teammates,” senior and varsity team member Olivia Miller said.

“As a second-year varsity player, I’m so excited to be a senior and play with younger girls. It allows me to become friends with girls who I would have never met. These new girls always become my best friends which is my ultimate favorite part of basketball,” she added.

The varsity team won 32-30 against Hillsdale HS in their Friendship Game on November 21. But, it lost 57-28 against Mills HS two days later. The team is looking forward to a tournament in Los Angeles at the beginning of December and to league play at the beginning of January.