The girls varsity basketball team made history as they won their first sectional championship in the 3A division. The girls varsity basketball team started their playoff run by winning regionals against Westinghouse High School. This year, they have a new coach who has the passion to achieve success at DePaul College Prep. To play at the varsity level is not only a lot of work, but it also includes a lot of factors that are necessary for success.

Kaitlin Reap is a junior at DePaul College Prep and this is her first year playing at the varsity level for basketball. She has been playing basketball since she was 12 years old and has been on the Freshman A team and JV team. Both of these teams in the past years have experienced success with winning the GCAC conference. But, Reap said there is a widened difference between the JV and varsity level.

“It’s definitely a lot more intense and a lot more hours put into it,” she said. These hours include reviewing films more often, and practicing more. She also said there are a lot more games at the varsity level which leads into more preparation for those games.

“The expectations are a lot higher at the varsity level,” she said. These expectations include performing at your best ability and not making as many mistakes. Reap said that to play at the varsity level you need a high level of focus to meet these expectations.

“Mental toughness is also a key factor that is needed,” she said. This mental toughness allows you to stay focused in the game and compete at the high paced varsity level.

Grace Lee is another Junior who has been playing at the varsity level since freshman year. As being on varsity for the past three years, Lee takes ownership and is a leader on and off the court. One example of this she said is sending her own scouting reports to the team.

“Coach Morgan assigns a lot of film to watch and I take notes and share them with the team,” she said. These notes include saying who on the opposing team is a good shooter, which player gets the most rebounds. She said this helped prepare her for games and the whole team.

Lee says playing at the varsity is a challenge and a lot of hard work. This work includes practicing and playing games every day of the week and staying focused. “Focus is a big part of the game and sometimes it is hard during a long season to stay focused,” she said.

This year, the team welcomed a new coach, Corey Morgan. He said he was very excited to come to DePaul College Prep and wanted to create a winning team. He has previous experience coaching as a travel basketball coach and coaching at other high schools.

He said that his goal for the team this year was to find success. “To find success in winning and in really having the team bond together,” he said. Coach Morgan said he has so much passion for the game and uses that passion to coach.

He said to play at the varsity level is a lot of fun, but also comes with a lot of work. “You have to love the game of basketball and have that passion to play at the varsity level,” he said.

Overall, the girls varsity basketball team saw great success this season, with a record of 20-14 and winning a regional championship. Although they lost in the sectional championship, the future is bright for this team, as the hard work to play at the varsity level will not stop.