Girls basketball will play its first game Nov. 6 against Garland Sachse at the Hebron 9th Grade Center at 7:15 p.m.

In an attempt to keep everyone safe, the team has implemented safety regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during practices and games.

“We have been keeping everyone in small groups,” head coach Chalisa Branch said. “When they are on the court, they don’t have masks. When they aren’t playing or doing any drills, they keep their masks on. We sanitize the balls and equipment before and after anybody uses them. We social distance as much as we can, even though basketball is a contact sport.”

After making it to the playoffs last year and having 22 total wins, the team hopes to be just as successful this year by working on their defensive skills.

“Honestly, we just hope to be able to finish the season,” Branch said. “ Just playing hard and continuing to strengthen our defense. Defense is going to be a huge challenge for us, so our goal is to work on that and develop more advanced skill sets.”

After starting practice in August, the team has been working on conditioning. They have been individually targeting certain skill sets to make the season successful.

“We work on everything from ball handling to shooting and passing,” assistant coach Lindsey Pouncy said. “This season our main focus has been defense. These past few weeks have been great for conditioning and preparing for the start of the season.”

The team had two scrimmages and won one of them. Senior Demauria Miles said she is excited to start playing at games.

 “Our goal for this year is to get closer as a team and play hard together,” Miles said. “I’m looking forward to winning games and going to playoffs with the rest of my team.”

If the team would have to quarantine, the girls and the coaches are prepared to continue the season virtually.

“We are going to overcome any obstacles thrown our way, whether we have to continue the season through Webex or any other methods,” Pouncy said. “If we were to have to go through any situation of COVID infection, I have no doubt in this team being able to persevere through all of this.”