Manitou Springs High School’s girls’ basketball team is kicking off the season on Nov. 14 with tryouts, and the first game will be Nov. 30 away at Peyton High School. 

This year the team will have former JV coach, Juliana Argyle, as their head coach due to Jesse Nunley being out on maternity leave. “It’s a little intimidating, but I’m very excited for the challenge,” Argyle said. 

Grace Allen (12) has been playing basketball since second grade and has played varsity since her freshman year. Allen is excited to see how the season plays out. “I think Coach Nunley will still be around when she can and she’ll come back towards the end of the season, but I’m super excited to see what happens with coach Argyle and Gabby Santos,” Allen said.

Jessie Nunley was the head coach last year and will continue to be a part of the program once off maternity leave. “Coach Nunley is still very much a part of our coaching staff and will be a huge resource for me and Coach Gabby heading into the season.” Argyle said, “She will return as an assistant coach after her maternity leave for the 22-23 season.”

Kaleena Jones (12) has been playing since third grade and swung varsity her sophomore year and became full varsity her junior year. She is looking forward to this upcoming season and wants the team to work well together. “I want the girls to know that this team becomes a family and the key to success is to play for one another and always control what you can control,” Jones said. 

Jones is also looking forward to playing with people who love basketball. “I am really excited about this season because we have a lot of girls that love to play and it’s going to be super fun and drama free,” Jones said.

Senior, Sami Benge-Kulzer, also wants to focus on creating a good team experience. “I think that win or lose at the end of the day you don’t remember the individual mistakes but rather how the people around you handled it and the atmosphere created,” Benge-Kulzer said. “I want to make it a really great atmosphere for those who will continue to play.” 

Allen is hoping for this to be a successful season and wants to leave the team with a good experience of basketball. “I just want everybody to have a good experience,” Allen said, “I don’t want anybody to have any regrets and wish they didn’t play basketball. I just hope everybody has a good time.”