With more wins than losses throughout this basketball season, the Guilford College women’s basketball team has battled their way into first place in the conference. Over the winter break, the team went 3-1, defeating Meredith College (73-60), Hollins University (70-41), Shenandoah University (58-45) and losing a close match against Oglethorpe University (47-42). The Quakers have won nine of their last 10 games after a 2-3 start to the season.

Head Coach Flamini has been extremely proud of the young team that she gets to work with every day and coach to continuously bring out their abilities and skills.

“(The team) came a long way since the first week [in this] rebuilding year,” Flamini said.

She went on to discuss how the transformation from the beginning of the season until now can be seen.

“Credit goes to them for their hard work,” Flamini said.

The players, along with Flamini, all want to work hard and together as a team to stay in first place.

Every team, whether high school, collegiate or professional, has their own set of strengths and weaknesses that can be seen on the court and between teammates and coaches. Some of Guilford’s strengths are playing well together as a team and knowing their roles and how to be successful with those roles. The team also has a variety of players who can score.

Along with so many strengths, there were a few things that the team wants to work on.

Some of the weaknesses of the Quakers include taking care of the ball, playing to their full potential, decision making when playing both defense and offense, and becoming more consistent as a team.

Being a first-year on a college sport team can be a little intimidating and an outstanding experience at the same time. The first-years on this year’s team have shown no signs of intimidation by any means. Big differences from high school to college include a different pace of the game, everyone’s want to win and the mental preparation it takes to play a collegiate sport.

“I loved high school ball, but I love college basketball even more,” said first-year guard Victoria Young.

Not only is the atmosphere between high school and college different, but the motion and quality of the sport becomes different.

“(The team) spends time watching film and analyzing an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in order to develop the best game plan,” said first-year guard Calyn Davis.

First-year forward Lindsay Gauldin averages 12.7 points per game and a team-high 10.3 rebounds per game. Gauldin has also had eight double-doubles on the season.

The Quakers leading scorer is junior forward Miracle Walters, averaging 15.3 points per game on a 55.7 shooting percentage.

The Quakers picked up big victories over Emory & Henry College and Randolph-Macon College as they head into the final 10 games of the season.

The Quakers have shown what skills and abilities the team possess at this moment in time and will continue to develop those skills as well as discover new ones as the season continues. Although the team has weaknesses, they have strengths that pull them together as winning team.