Both the girls and boys Shorewood basketball teams have dribbled their way into the 25–26 season. The boys started November 17 and the girls started on November 10.

Girls Basketball 

After months of off season training and open gyms, the girls team has returned to their daily practices and weekly games. 

“I believe that my girls are doing really well,” said Velvet Moore-Owen, the head coach of girls basketball. “I like the transition that we’re going through. I like the learning curve that we’re approaching, I like the confidence level that they’re showing, and I feel that a state championship is well within our reach.”

Moore-Owen has been the head coach of girls basketball for two years. Throughout that time, she has been working to build up the team and set high standards for their improvement. 

“Last year we had Serenity,” said Evie Katt, senior and a captain of the team. “She was our leading scorer with an average [score] above 36 points per game, and losing her was scary at first. What we’re starting to realize is that we can play better and communicate with each other aside from having a leading scorer.” 

Katt, who has been playing since her sophomore year, has been trying to improve her and her team’s play this season.

“My season has definitely been a rollercoaster, but it’s getting better,” Katt said. “[I’m] still working on my defense, and it’s been good. I think the team’s season will turn out good. I think we have a lot of potential as a team, and we work really well together and communicate.”

Although early into the season, the team has already formed close connections with each other.

“We are an extremely close team,” Katt said. “Even outside of basketball, we all spend time together, we all hang out, and we all enjoy each other. We have really close bonds and we have a lot of fun together.”

The team’s goals primarily consist of working towards the state tournament and improving the teamwork and dynamic of the team.

“Our main goal is get past the regionals and make it to sectionals,” Moore-Owen said. “[We want to] have a healthy team. We have eight varsity players and we have six JV players. I plan on moving up those junior varsity players at some point in time, throughout the season, but with the core group that I have, they love the game.”

Boys Basketball

The boys, while having just started their season, have been working with their coaches to improve. Coach Miguel Browne has high hopes for the team. 

“So far, they look really good,” Browne said. “They’re one and one. I coach the JV one program, and the first game was a very close game; we ended up losing by 11, but we were down by four in the last two minutes. They looked really, really good.”

Senior Pablo Santana has been playing basketball for six years and has been on the high school team for all four years. 

“I think we’re gonna be good. I think we’re gonna win a lot of games and surprise people,”  said Santana.

Browne tries to build together a close-knit community. He values team chemistry and team morale.

“The team functions together like a band of 40 brothers,” Browne said. “They’re all jokey, they’re all having fun, but they’re also pushing each other and competing against each other like brothers do.”

Browne values the growth of his students on the JV team, both as people and as players.

“[I get to]  make sure that they’re becoming good young men, because teaching sports is more than just teaching the game,” Browne said. “It’s making sure they’re becoming hard workers. It teaches good values. I think when I took that freshman position, it just showed me four years of growth from kids that turn from freshman boys to young men, and just seeing how they work on the court translates to them working in real life.”

Browne credits much of Shorewood’s successful basketball program to the work and support of the families and communities in Shorewood.

“It’s a big family, and I think that without that network, without that connective tissue, the programs would look a lot different,” Browne said.