Under Pressure

Photo+by+Madi+Weaver+

Photo by Madi Weaver

Madi Weaver, Staff Writer

Most of the team members flinch when their record is brought up. It is a reflex they have all developed this season and it is something they are constantly thinking about. The Junior Varsity Girls’ basketball team has not lost a game since their coach John Rasmussen, or ‘Dino’ as the team calls him, started coaching. All together Rasmussen has won 55 straight games as coach, Jerry Hawkins had won 20, and Mark Bircher had won 12 making the JV record 87 wins in a row.

The Glacier Peak Girls Junior Varsity team’s overall record the last 7 years is 128 wins and only 6 losses. The team has had 87 straight wins over the years and the pressure is building. “Every time we hear ‘the streak’ everyone on the team tenses up” Nicole Jensen, a freshman on the JV team said.

Jensen talked about the first time Rasmussen brought up ‘the streak’ and said “Dino asked us if anyone on the team had heard about it, everyone tensed up right away.” Sophomore Abigail Chambers said that “before every game we talk about it and if we are ever down during a game we think about how we have to win for ‘the streak.’” Chambers was the most concerned for ‘the streak’ when they played Lynnwood because they only won by one. During this game Chambers passed to Jensen on a fast break who was fouled and had the opportunity to put them in the lead with only 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. “The crowd was yelling but the noise calmed me down. When it’s silent I get more nervous because I think about missing,” Jensen said. She sank both free throws to pull the grizzlies ahead by one and finish the game in an ecstatic celebration with the fans.

This record is evidence of the athleticism, teamwork, and heart of the several groups of girls throughout the years who created it and their coaches who have lead them. This year’s team hopes to uphold and honor this lasting streak as well as the reputation of sportsmanship past teams have created. Jensen agrees with Chambers that she was most scared during the Lynnwood game and they are scheduled to play the team again. They won’t have to wait long because the girls with face the Lynnwood Royals for the second time on February 6th at 5:45, the last home game of the season.