After a vastly improved 2015 campaign which saw the Washington and Lee’s Women’s Basketball team up its 2014 win total by 10 wins, the team is now looking for an even more prestigious goal: their first ODAC championship since 2010.

“Last year we started off not having any expectations from other people and we had almost nothing to lose and we surprised ourselves a little bit by how well we were doing,” Co-captain Katie Wildes, ’16, said. “This year we definitely have some more pressure on ourselves but I think we have been building up our confidence and are showing what we can do.”

According to Co-captain Paige Corvino, ’16, the team went through a rebuilding year in 2012 and has been building up from scratch for the last four years.

“Myself, my assistant Pamela Findlay, and the upperclassmen have worked really hard over the past four years to build the program to where it is today,” Head Coach Christine Clancy said. “We made huge strides competitively last year and we are hoping to continue to make great strides this year. We have the potential to be one of the most successful women’s basketball teams in school history.”

Clancy said that the team’s biggest strength comes from the characters of its players.  She said that the team’s commitment to play as a whole team is what has been pushing its records up.

“We are a team and a family and we play together unselfishly because of who they are as people,” Clancy said.

The familial aspect of the team has been key to propelling them to such high expectations.

“That chemistry is translated into the court. I think it makes our plays run easier, defense run better and we have that communication that runs between us which takes some time to work on,” Wildes said.

While the team has suffered a tough start of the season with a 3-4 record and a 1-1 record in the ODAC season, the captains said they are still positive about the team’s success this year.

“Our losses came from very good teams and we competed with them well, so that gives me a good feeling about how the rest of our season will go,” Corvino said.

Despite the quality of their opponents, the Generals are not satisfied and are looking to improve on their results and play up to their potential.

“We are not satisfied with our losses, but we are learning from them and using them to fuel our focus for our upcoming games,” Clancy said.

Both captains and the coach maintained that their ultimate goal of the season is to win the ODAC championship.

“It has been something we have wanted to accomplish for a while now and I am very confident that we will be able to do that this year,” Corvino said. “We have an amazing team that has worked super hard over the summer and the beginning of this year to get better and I know we all really want to be ODAC champions so I have no doubt we will do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal.”

With only one season left, Wildes said she knows she only has one more chance to make a lasting impact on the program.

“We came back from thanksgiving break knowing what we needed to change from our losses and now are very excited about what the rest of the ODAC season will bring,” Wildes said.