The turn-out at the JV and varsity girls’ basketball tryouts  was low compared to previous seasons.

There were around 20 girls who showed up for the first day of tryouts on Nov. 5, according to junior Ariella Rosenthal.

Varsity coach Diane Peterson said the low numbers were due to the loss of girls who played for the freshman team last year but decided to not try out this year.

According to the current rosters for each team, there will be 12 girls on the freshman team, 10 girls on the junior varsity team, and 14 girls on the varsity team.

The varsity team has one freshman on the team, and four seniors. However, Rosenthal said that the team will rely heavily on the juniors who make up the team.

“What I told the girls is that they can’t get too comfortable when they make a team – either freshman, JV, or varsity,” Peterson said. “Because once they get comfortable there is always another girl behind them hungry to take their spot.”

Last year, Rosenthal averaged 9.4 points per game, making her the highest scoring player of the team. She has played on varsity since her freshman year.

Returning seniors this year include Victoria Var-Heibak, Megan Dwyer, Laura Slote, and Rachel Heller.

Dwyer averaged five points per game last year, the third highest scoring player of the team.

According to junior Chase Schornstein, the team has many fast players, but the speed can sometimes create problems.

“As a whole we need to work on our composure and relaxing,” Schornstein said. “When we take our lay ups we need to take our time.”

Schornstein lead the team in assists last year, averaging 1.3 a game.

The team has held multiple open gyms since September, and some of the returning players have participated in games over the weekends.

According to Rosenthal, the pre-season games and practices are important for the team to work on the problems that carried over from last season.

“A lot of our future success is going to be how we perform in pre-season and how much everyone really puts into it. We have a lot of preseason games and practices to prepare,” Rosenthal said. “It is going to be a big help to get ready mentally and physically for the actual season.”