As the squeaks of shoes and the cheers of onwatching students echo throughout the Elk Grove High School gym, one thing remains certain: there is a feeling of optimism and belief in the air.

Sure, the Grenadier girls basketball team’s start to the 2018-2019 season was certainly not ideal, or at the very least not nearly as successful as the team would have hoped. Head coach Jennifer Buxton agreed.

“We were not playing like ourselves,” Buxton said.

However, progress toward the future had become prevalent throughout the girls basketball program. To say that the team bounced back would be quite an understatement.

The Grens proceeded to go on a six-game winning streak, beating the likes of Wheeling and Prospect in the process.

“The girls really just clicked together and turned a corner,” Buxton said. “It’s always about peaking at the right time. I knew they were always capable, but for them to believe it and pull through in a tight game, that was huge.”

Buxton highlighted the Prospect game in particular as a decisive moment in the 14-14 season. She praised the players’ attitudes as a key factor in that win.

“I think that mentality of not playing soft, but going out and grabbing wins was there during the game,” Buxton said.

Junior Megan Murray was in agreement, also stressing the team’s ability to fight for each other in crucial games.

“My favorite moment of the season was beating Prospect because we came together, and everyone was really excited because that was our first time beating them in a few seasons,” Murray said.

Like the beginning of the season indicated, it was not always a straightforward road. The team was plagued with injuries. Murray herself admitted that she even played a majority of the season severely hurt.

“It was tough because everyone kept on getting hurt,” she said. “I played with a fractured wrist the entire season.”

Despite the setbacks, Murray reiterated the mentality that the winning streak had been backed on in the first place.

“We played through them (the injuries) because we all care for eachother and the program,” Murray said.

Murray is confident in the team’s ability to bounce back, and both her and the Grens feel that next year could be an improvement on this one.

“We now know how much we really want it,” Murray said.