The women’s basketball team is hopeful and ready for upcoming season despite losing last year’s four seniors and facing a smaller number of players from last season.

The women’s basketball team is made up of thirteen players for the upcoming season. The team still has both a JV and Varsity team despite the numbers; they plan to have Varsity and JV games on separate days. Head coach Kevin Verde described what the team’s plans are for the season with such small numbers.

“I think to have thirteen girls will be a blessing in the maturation of the team. Everyone will have a chance to get better and play on Varsity and JV nights. Hopefully, we see a bump in numbers next year, so we don’t have to do [separate games] again, but if we do we will have a plan as to how it can be done. Most teams will play JV and Varsity games on the same night, we will play JV games on separate nights,” Verde said.

Senior Salwa Najjar has played basketball for Revere since she was only six years old. Najjar described how she thinks the numbers of players will affect the team.

“Since there are not many of us, we need to all be mentally tough when it comes to practices and games. It will require us to buckle down and do what we are expected to when we are in the game, trust each other and work hard always. If not, there may not be anyone to go in our place,” Najjar said.

The team has a healthy combination of experienced seniors and new freshmen playing this year. Verde explained what makes up the team this season.

“We will have a young team when it comes to varsity experience, but we will have talent. Grace Hete, a captain, will be looked upon to be a leader and score for us. Jess Vari, our third captain, will be asked to be a post presence. Taylor Rinn, a junior, needs to be a scorer for us this year. Anna D’Amico can give us a spark on the defensive end. Two freshman Taylor Kenna and Adison Novosel will be asked to grow up quickly to give us some of the things we lost to graduation,” Verde said.

Senior Julia Schwertner played basketball for Revere her freshman and sophomore year, and has returned to the sport after taking a break from her junior year season. Schwertner described how basketball compares to other sports.

“Basketball has one of the longest seasons and requires everyone on the team to be all in. It requires a lot of stamina, and you need to be mentally tough. You have to put so much effort into practices, and since only five girls can be on the court at once, you don’t always get as many rewards as other sports, but the team becomes a true family like no other sport I’ve played,” Schwertner said.

Over the summer, the team played in the Tri-County Coach’s Basketball Invitational and finished with a record of 6-2. The team also traveled to the Findlay University Summer Camp where the girls gained even more experience. Verde explained his expectations for the team this season.

“Our expectations for the season are the same as every year, to reach our max potential. We do not want to judge ourselves on previous team’s success, and we do not want to sell ourselves short and not achieve our max potential,” Verde said.

Seniors on the team this year include Julia Schwertner and Salwa Najjar. Captains on the team this year include Grace Hete, Salwa Najjar, and Jess Vari. The team’s first game away at North Royalton on November 29.