The Struthers girls’ junior varsity basketball team has started its season off strong with a record of 10-4 and continues to push forward despite the adversity its faced.

Excluding its losses to Canfield, South Range, Jefferson, and Niles, the JV team has played great games against many difficult opponents both inside and outside of the conference. The Cats are 5-3 in-conference and 5 -1 out-of-conference.

Natalie Wolikow, a freshman on the JV team, is proud of the team’s record and understands that they can only get better from here.

“As JV, we started off the season very strong, going undefeated for the first 10 games. We are 10-4 right now, with three injuries in the past few games, and it’s been kind of a big setback for us. I feel like we’re more focused on our teammates’ health than our record, but once everyone is healthy again I feel like we will be better than before,” says Wolikow.

Everyone this season has put in the work to get where they are now. The countless hours they’ve spent in the gym playing against the varsity team have only helped them get better and better.

Wolikow puts in the work against the varsity team and appreciates how they make her better.

“The varsity has helped me and other freshmen so much in ways that they give it their all and don’t go easy on us. It pushes us to go even harder. They have helped us get used to playing at the high school level by teaching us what and what not to do,” says Wolikow.

The JV team has been facing many challenges this season like having a few of their players injured, making the rest of the team try to step up to fill their spots. Everyone there is working together to accomplish as much as they can while being short-handed.

Mia Rodriguez, a freshman on the JV team, pushes herself to take on the roles of her teammates and makes sure that everyone works together.

“I plan on stepping up and helping the team by making sure everyone is gelling well together and trying to contribute as much as possible to the team. I’m going to keep on improving my confidence and getting to a higher skill level to help out,” says Rodriguez