After school, the field house resounds with the squeaks of rubber soles on the shining hardwood floor and dozens of basketballs loudly pounding off the floor. Drill after drill, hour after hour, the girls practice the usual — dribbling, shooting and defense. The players are individually capable of handling the ball masterfully and quickly maneuvering around the court.

Despite individual talent, the girls looked flustered during the alumni game on Nov. 29. The alumni scored twice as many points as the current team’s players. Missed passes and miscommunication hindered the team, turning a close 21-20 score into 26-52 loss. In addition, the team lost several of its specialized players whose positions have only recently been filled.

“Last year, we had a very specific shooter with [2014 alumnus] Stephanie Jennings,” Coach Sara Borelli said. “Everyone’s trying to reestablish their roles and figure out who’s going to do what and who’s going to be our power players and shooters.”

Now things are settling down. Senior Christina Jennings, Stephanie Jennings’s younger sister, has returned from cross country after missing initial tryouts due to the cross country CCS. After a month of practice, the players are beginning to adjust to their positions. The team hopes that time and practice will also bring unity and teamwork, the two aspects the team needs for success. They are confident that the team will be a stronger, more cohesive unit.

Last year’s team lost the second round CCS game to Evergreen Valley High School by a score of 62-63. This year, the team is looking forward to the season and are hoping to surpass last year by advancing to the third round of CCS.

“A lot of our plays are not fully working out,” senior Kaisa Rautiainen said. “But once we have time to practice them more against defense like we did today [at the alumni game], then I think we’ll be just fine.”

The Matadors’ first home tournament will take place between Dec. 11-13.