The Minnetonka Girls Basketball Team finished their 2013-2014 season with much to be proud of: countless hours of hard work as a team, an incredible 24-4 record (The best ever in Tonka girls basketball history!), a Lake Conference co-championship title with a 7-1 conference record (the first time Minnetonka has earned this honor since 2006), and going undefeated on the home court this season.

However, the phenomenal stats and rankings were not the high points of the season. The players agree with senior center Olivia Baker that “the best part about being a part of the team is the sense of family and unity that is present […] every day.” Senior Mackenzie Dahl stated “we have become such good friends which has produced our success on the basketball court.” The Skippers saw that success in the conference title game: Olivia remembers how “one of the best moments during the season was when we beat Hopkins to clench the conference co-champion title!”

From drills in practice to big games like this one, the eighteen girls on the team support and encouraged one another. “All of the girls have common work ethics and strive towards similar goals so we connect really well,” added sophomore Courtney Fredrickson. “We’re all goofy and can change a teammate’s bad day into a good one at practice,” by bringing their best attitudes and efforts to the gym each day.

A great team can only go so far on their own- they need great coaches to help them succeed. Head coach Leah Dasovich and assistant coaches Mark Forbish and Andy Cerisier do just that every day with their focused practices and friendly style. “Coach Dasovich is a fantastic coach. She comes ready each practice with a specific offensive and defensive goal for us, which makes our practices very focused and productive,” said junior Caroline Shelquist. She’s also very easy to relate to. Mackenzie adds, “Coach Dasovich […] knows how to talk to us and it’s easy for us to talk to her as well because she can relate to us. She has a very high basketball IQ and that helped us with our successful season.” Courtney said she’s also “very easy to talk to about anything.” One of the most important contributions “Coach Das” (as the team lovingly calls her) makes to the team is that she “brings the most enjoyable attitude to the gym every day,” according to Olivia. Coach Dasovich described the team as “determined and tenacious.” Her favorite memories from this season were the conversations she had with the team about leadership and being young women of the future.

Junior team managers Anna Erickson and Alexa Soboleski were also key players for the Skippers; from taking charge of equipment for away games to keeping stats at games, to helping run the clock at practice, and countless more jobs, the managers boosted team morale.

What’s in store for this talented team?  The six seniors have served as great leaders this year. Seniors included Olivia Baker, Mackenzie Dahl, Anne Hamilton, Mariah Hirstein, Suzie Molencamp, and Michaela Moulder. Three of these girls will carry on the Tonka basketball tradition at the collegiate level: Anne will play for Valparaiso University in Indiana, Mackenzie will attend University of Sioux Falls, and Olivia plans to play ball at North Dakota State University. Courtney speaks for the whole team when she says the rest of the team will “be back next year and will miss our seniors very much!” The girls went “all-in” every day, showing the power of teamwork and developing their friendships, which last long after the last buzzer sounds.