By Ethan Harrigan – Sports Editor

Katie Konareski is a senior and a captain of the Jonathan Law girls basketball team. The team is currently 4-3 after an overtime win against Career on February 26. They have now won three games in a row, including a comeback win against Shelton on Law’s Senior Night. Advoacte Sports Editor Ethan Harrigan interviewed Konareski about this year’s team and the season so far.

Ethan Harrigan: What is your role on the team?

Katie Konareski: I am the captain and point guard for the Law girls basketball team. This makes me responsible for the players in many ways. On the court making sure everyone knows plays and is always working to their greatest ability and off the court doing good in school and staying healthy.

EH: How has COVID impacted the basketball season?

KK: COVID has impacted our season in a couple ways. To start, we have to wear masks the whole time. This makes it a little more difficult for the players to breathe, and for me as a point guard, to communicate loud across the court over loud noise. One positive side to this is that there are masks breaks every quarter to help with this issue. Another way COVID has impacted our season is that we do not have a state tournament and only have 12 games this season. Compared to the last couple years this did disappoint me but at the end of the day I’m very thankful we have a season at all.

EH: What did you do to prepare for the season?

KK: As a junior last year who decided they wanted to play in college, I made the decision to play on a travel basketball team for about five months in 2020. Following all safety protocols, my coach and teammates did everything we could to have this and it helped me a lot. Along with this I also worked out 3+ times a week and had personal training sessions when I could fit it in. As we got closer to the season, the law girls basketball team had virtual conditionings that also helped a lot. Though COVID did affect our season last year and this year, without the free time it caused I wouldn’t be the player I am today.

EH: How do you feel about the team’s performance after the first few games and is there anything you can do to improve?

KK: In the first few games, we were all still starting to get back into things. Everything was new to us and last year we lost two starters who helped us dramatically. We are a small team and one of the things we struggled with most were transition points and using our speed and size to an advantage. This has helped us improve so much over the past couple games and also has helped us finish the last half strong. One thing I think we can work on is our patience on offense and finding the openings after swinging the ball quick.

EH: What are your personal goals and your goals for the team?

KK: My personal goal is to get First Team All-SCC this year. Last year was my first year starting varsity and I got All-SCC Second Team. Since I put in so much more work in the off season this year, I’m hoping I can make this happen. As a team, I know we have the ability to win the SCC tournament and want to achieve that the most.