While Pascack Valley had no school due to winter vacation, the girls basketball team spent most of its break in the gym and at games. The girls played four games over this long week-plus off and showed plenty of promise going .500, winning two games and losing two games. This leaves their current record at 3-3.

Coach Jeff Jasper is “very pleased” with the team’s progress, saying that, “[The] learning curve is going up everyday.”

On Dec. 26, the Indians defeated Ridgefield Park 42-35 in the first round of the Joe Poli Holiday Tournament. Leading scorers were seniors Else DiGiacopo scoring 13 points and Lyndsay Grilo dropping in 10. This game advanced them into the semifinals of the tournament against Secaucus.

The semifinals of the Poli on Dec. 28 proved to be a challenge for the team as PV faced Secaucus, a very talented team full of veterans who play a very fast paced game. Putting a full court press on the Indians, which proved to be a struggle. While both teams lack height, Secaucus used its experience to its advantage. Pascack Valley ultimately fell 52-46. Sophomore Shannon Culloo played one of her better games of the season scoring 19 points, which was nearly half of the total score. DiGiacopo added another 10 points to the team’s total.

Dec. 30 saw the last game of 2014 for the girls squad. This was also the last day of the Poli, but the team was already knocked out of the running to win the tournament. The Indians faced last year’s county champions, Northern Highlands. The Lady Indians played a quality game, holding a lead in the beginning. This lead was left in the first half and the team succumbed to Northern Highlands 44-38.

In their first game of 2015, the team traveled to Tenafly on Saturday. After the previous loss, the team seemed to have a fire lit under it. The team took down Tenafly 63-37 and 16 different players saw the floor. DiGiacopo scored 15 points, Grilo had 11 points and Culloo added another 10 points.

Jasper also noted that the team has really become a unit over this break saying, “[The team is] playing with incredible energy and enthusiasm. They all truly cherish each moment.”

These qualities will help the team in their next three games as they face county heavyweights Bergenfield, Demarest and Teaneck. All three have proven to be worthy opponents for the Indians in the past.

The team’s mentality will be an important factor going into these games; especially coming off of a big win this weekend. With Jasper adding, “No break nor do we expect any.”

The Indians host two games at home this week, Bergenfield on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Demarest Friday at 4 p.m.

Editor’s note: The sports staff will be providing a weekly story for each sport. This is the first installment. The schedule is as follows:

Mondays: Girls basketball

Tuesdays: Track, hockey

Wednesdays: Boys basketball

Thursdays: Swimming, bowling

Fridays: Wrestling