To the Lady Knights basketball team, family has been a theme throughout the season. Throughout practices and games, the players and coaches have had this common word in their minds. Because of this, the team bond has been better than ever, according to junior Gabby Delarue.

“The team bond has been really great this year,” Gabby said. “There has been some low lows but followed up with some high highs.”

This relationship that has grown throughout the season has led them to improving upon last year’s record of 4-22 to a record of 6-20 this season. The team has been spending more time with each other than in previous years. For example, the girls drove down to senior Maggie Hillman’s farm to spend the night and have quality time together.

“While at the farm, we were able to have amazing talks about life and we learned a lot more about each other than we ever would have known and it has brought us closer as a team,” Gabby said.

The tone of family is stressed by head coach Dawn Hahn because this is how she feels the team will be able to play at the best of their ability.

”These four years of high school are once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” Hahn said. “The relationships you build now will be the ones you remember when you look back on high school. No matter if they are an immediate family member or a friend you think of as family, those relationships will stay strong for the rest of your life.”

Not only does the team have a bond that makes them feel like family, there are actual family members on the team. Gabby is joined on varsity this year by her sister Isabelle Delarue who is a freshman. Also, Hahn has her daughter, Cate Hahn, on the team. Though having a relative within the program can add stress, there are also many benefits according to Isabelle Delarue.

“Though we have yelled at each other in practice many times, playing with my sister is comfortable and helps me be confident,” Isabelle said.

As for the Hahns, they feel that spending even more time together has only made their relationship closer.

“Anytime you get to coach your kid is pretty cool,” Dawn said. “I have been coaching Cate since she was in second grade, and to be next to her for not only her triumphs but her struggles has only made our mother-daughter bond grow.”

With the trend of family being pushed into every practice, the team hopes to only build upon it going into next year. The girls finished the season with a final record of 6-20.

“This season we have made it a goal to mix things up from Dec. 15 to now,” Dawn said. “We have been progressing as a team and every time we step on the court we get better. We want to keep this trend as a team.”