Sussex Academy girls’ basketball bonding ahead of new season

Chemistry on the court is one of the most important elements a team must possess, and the Sussex Academy girls’ basketball team is building its chemistry on and off the court.

Rayona Benson is at the helm again, and while the coach always works with smaller numbers, she never lets her girls off from working hard. This year’s team seems to enjoy the sweat.

“These kids are very, very optimistic – they are all in,” Benson said. “The leadership is very good.”

“It's a small school so everybody knows everybody,” said senior Eva Boos. “It's even easier to make friends with the people on the team if you know them already.”

Wins will be a welcome sight, but Benson believes it's more important to see improvement.

“I always want to see progression, of course, from day one to the current day, so that's mainly what my focus is,” Benson said. “I want them to be able to give teams a hard time; I want them to show up, want them to still keep the attitude that we're not gonna get beat here. We're gonna play our best, no matter what. As long as I'm getting like 110 out there from them, I'm OK with it.”

One of her main enforcers of accountability is junior Grayce Glover, who can play inside or outside while also grabbing board after board.

“Grayce is one, and has always been, of our most consistent players,” Benson said. “She actually didn't even practice [early] because she had volleyball, but literally came right out here and was right back in there like she never missed the beat.”

Glover has been playing serious minutes since her freshman year, and she personally knows how valuable it is to be prepared and to learn on the fly.

“She's definitely taking it upon herself to take these kids under her wings, especially with the younger ones,” Benson said. “We are in the gym and she completely takes over.”

Benson preaches a defense-first approach and gets the most out of her girls on that end, but she thinks they are capable of more offensively.

“They don't have a problem shooting,” she said. “It's just more about confidence to shoot it. I do think it’ll probably be more shooting than driving, but I'm always up for going to the basket.”