The Wisdom Lane girls' eighth-grade basketball team ended its season last week, finishing with an impressive record of 9-2. Showing true determination, the team won one nail-biter after another, with five of its victories coming by five points or less. In every game that they played, the girls gritted their teeth, gave everything they could, and were fearless about taking (and often making) big shots down the stretch.

The epitome of this hard-working attitude was the girls' victory at Woodland. The outcome looked bleak, as the team got off to a sluggish start and trailed by 17 points at halftime. Coming out of the half with a renewed intensity, the team rallied to cut the deficit to only nine by the start of the final quarter. The girls then were able to ride this momentum to cut down the lead to only two points with three precious seconds remaining. After a short time out, the girls completed the comeback with point guard Kristin Costello using a screen to take the ball almost the length of the court, hitting a running one-hander as the buzzer sounded. With all the energy and momentum now on their side, the tam continued their sharp play in the overtime period, outscoring Woodland by 4 points to take the victory. Aiding Costello in the victory was forward Nicollette Parmese, who scored 19 points, and guard Lindsay Jurgens, who chipped in with nine points.

One of the reasons for the Wildcats' successful season was the balanced attack that they had. Every player on the roster knew her role and played her part to the best of her ability. The ball handling duties were handled primarily by Woodland heroes Kirstin Costello and Gina Tricarico. Offensively, the Wildcats were lead by Nicollette Parmese's 17 points per game scoring average and Costello's double digit scoring average. Exceptional all around offensive play was turned in by Lindsay Jurgens, Courtney Hanusch, and Molly Bauer. All season long, the defense was anchored by the hard work and hustle of Katie Moylan, Brianna Greco, Meghan Kirk, and Shannon Vernola. Last, but certainly not least, the unsung rebounding heroes were A.J. Causeman, Natasha Kinder, Katie Wiedler, Alexa Fernicola, and Jenna Goldstein.