If the girls basketball team set out to prove anything this season, it would be “our way, everyday.” Backed by one of the program’s most successful records of 12-9, and new dynamics thrown in, the girls feel that they are on the right track.

“This is something Hagerty has never done,” guard Julianne Souza said. “We always push through hard teams like Lake Mary and Seminole together and win and lose always as a team.”

The girls started out the season strong with a 6-0 winning streak, and a defining moment came in the 59-56 victory over St. Cloud on Jan. 9.

“St. Cloud was really intense, considering how close it was the whole time,” forward Kylee Magaw said. “The team came together in the final moment of the game.”

The game was played without some crucial players and towards the end of the fourth quarter the team was down by 6 points but they battled back to win the game by three.

Another of their prized victories was  against Lake Howell on Dec. 13. Lake Howell foreword Isabel Morales transferred there from Hagerty, so the 64-49 victory there was bit bittersweet against a former teammate.

“Beating Lake Howell was definitely a highlight of the season because they’re a rival and it was against one of our former players, it was a good win,” guard Megan Reilly said.

New uniforms, and a new style of game-play, were just some changes that came with new head coach Joshua Johns. This new style has allowed Reilly and Aryann Johnson, also a guard, to score 254 and 202 points on the season so far.

“The new coach has made a huge difference this season,” Johnson said. “There’s more discipline and there are higher expectations as players and student athletes.”

The girls connected throughout the season, seeing each other during the week with practices and games, plus making plans on the weekend for team-bonding like going out to places like Boing,  or City walk. Sometimes they even held pickup games at a nearby park. One of their favorite team bonding activities was their trip to the Sling shot in downtown Orlando.

“We decided to do the Slingshot because it seemed like an insanely scary thing to do,” guard Megan Maschoff said. “We figured if we all did it together then it wouldn’t be so scary; it was a blast.”

Every season the team has a “team initiation” where new players to do something, like striking up a conversation with a  stranger, purposefully fall in front of people or eat a scorpion lollipop.

Before games they will go out to get somewhere to grab a snack then go to the locker room to get their “team nap” in. Their area in the locker room has a couch and they’ll bring blankets to rest prior to game time.

Due to their close relationship, it has been easy for them to know each others habits and work together as a team.

“My main goal for the team this season was to pass the ball more and get moving around instead of just focusing on one person,” Reilly said.

District Championships will take place Jan. 30- Feb.4 at St. Cloud.

“We have had a tough schedule this season,” Johns said. “I feel optimistic that we will draw on those experiences and use them to prepare us for the road ahead.”

Ending out last season with the best finish in school history as 14-12, the team and coaches see an opportunity for even more thanks to the team’s overall youth and talent.

“I wanted to empower our young team to develop mindsets of champions, not just solely in basketball, but in life,” Johns said.

Gallery | 4 Photos

Center Krystyna Simpson looks for a pass as she is about to fake out a player from Cornerstone Charter school.