The air is crisp and cold, which can only mean one thing- it is finally winter in Miami. With the Winter season comes all the amazing Winter sports student athletes and fans love. One team with lots of passion and excitement for their 2020-2021 season is the Lady Cavaliers Basketball team.

Last year the team had a spectacular season with lots of ups and downs, ending at the districts semi-finals. However, this year the team has had a major challenge to face. Since most of the team were seniors last year, the team had to recruit multiple players during tryouts this year to make up for their absence in both numbers and mentality. Luckily, the team was able to gather an amazing group of players for their varsity team. However, unlike last year this year, there will be no junior varsity.

“Sadly we lost a lot of seniors last year, however there was a great turnout at tryouts despite the coronavirus and we now have a full varsity team,” captain Isabella Barbery said.

Practices began on Nov. 17 in the Coral Gables High School gym at 5 p.m. to 7 p. m. During practice, the team established COVID-19 protocols, such as playing with their masks on and socially distancing whenever possible. Due to the Coronavirus, gym time has been limited since it now has to be shared with four teams, the girls’ volleyball and both varsity and junior varsity boys’ basketball, rather than the usual three. Despite this setback, the Lady Cavaliers still push forward and continue to practice as much as they can, even if it is on the outside courts.

The Lady Cavs 2020-2021 season will be a little different than previous years. Unfortunately, there will be a decrease in games since some schools chose to not form teams this year. In addition to this, only players on the court will have the option to play with or without masks. Other than that, all teammates are required to wear masks at all times.

“The season is a little different this year, to stay safe we play with masks during practice and games which can be tough but safety comes first,” sophomore Isabella Morales said.

Their first game of the season was supposed to be on Dec. 3 at the Gables gym from 5-6 p.m. against the Reagan Bisons, but the game had to be canceled because a member of the Bisons contracted COVID-19 and both teams agreed it was best to cancel the game.

Luckily, the Lady Cavaliers had their next scheduled game the following day, Dec. 4. The game was an away game against the Terra Wolves at 3:30 p.m. It was an intense game with only a five-point difference between the teams throughout all four quarters, the Wolves leading the game. Woefully, the Cavaliers were not able to take the lead, and the game ended with a score of 44 to 37 in the Wolves’ favor. Taking charge of the game for the Cavaliers was sophomore Nicole Martinez. She scored a total of 9 points and had the most offensive and defensive rebounds of the entire team, with a total of 11 rebounds.

Although they lost their first game of the season, the Lady Cavaliers are remaining positive in hopes of an unstoppable season. Their next game is an away game against the Lourdes Bobcats at 5 p.m. Despite the fact that the team is not allowed to have viewers at the game, there will be a Zoom link posted on the team’s instagram, @cghsbasketball, so fans can still cheer on the Lady Cavaliers.

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