The ball was down on Lake Nona’s side when point guard Kiara Harris stole the ball. Running down the court, she pulled off a behind-the-back pass to shooting guard Alexis Botelho, who scored a layup. The girl’s varsity basketball team went on to beat Lake Nona 80-31 on Dec. 12, making their record 7-1. 

“I think winning by such a large margin allowed everybody to play,” head coach Josh Kohn said. “Everybody got minutes, everybody got in, and that gave us a positive atmosphere.” 

The girls have a solid team chemistry, which shows on the court. They passed the ball very well, ran their plays perfectly, and almost everyone made their shots against Lake Nona. 

“We came out, did what needed to be done, and we won with class,” Harris said. 

They were ahead the whole game, allowing Lake Nona to score a handful of times, and have multiple turnovers, but not enough for them to secure the win. 

The team only has nine players so Kohn looks at every game as a practice opportunity for the team to condition and to learn each other’s playing styles. 

“We can’t always play five on five, we’re kind of learning every game we play, whether it’s a close game or not.” Kohn said. “We use it as practice, because they get to work on their conditioning.” 

Even though they don’t have a large team, the talent makes up for that. Every girl on the team has a high basketball IQ, and they can all shoot the ball very well. 

“The skill level on our team is great, and I think everybody can shoot the basketball well, which is a big advantage for us,” Kohn said. 

The team also secured a win on Dec. 14 against Lyman (63-21), making their record 8-1 as they move ahead into the break. The team will play in a varsity-only tournament over winter break in Brunswick, Georgia.