The NDA Tritons girls’ basketball team defeated Preble 108-30 on Senior Night last weekend.
Five seniors are on this year’s team: Gracie Grzesk, Trista Fayta, Sydney Whitehouse, Paige DeMoulin and Hannah Greisen.
During her senior volleyball season, Hannah Greisen tore her ACL. The day before the Tritons faced Preble, Greisen received a text from Coach Sara Rohde.
Rohde asked Greisen if she wanted to play with the other seniors one last time.
“There was no way I was going to give up that opportunity,” shared Greisen.
With about a minute left in the game, the Tritons called a timeout. Greisen checked into the game to play alongside her senior teammates one last time.
The Preble Hornets showed great sportsmanship by letting her score too. Though she missed her first layup, she got her rebound and laid the second attempt in.
“To share the court with my best friends one last time was so special. After getting my own rebound and putting it back up for the layup, my teammates started jumping like we had won state again. All I could do was smile and laugh with them,” said Greisen.
When the game came to a close, some of the sophomores and juniors grabbed the microphone and delivered a short speech to their selected senior.
Junior Morgan Gokey spoke to Paige DeMoulin, sophomore Kaia Waldrop addressed Trista Fayta, sophomore Destiny Webster spoke to Sydney Whitehouse, sophomore Aspen Abel gave a shout out to Hannah Greisen and junior Peyton Musial addressed Gracie Grzesk.
Recently, Grzesk hit the major milestone of becoming the all-time leading scorer in both Notre Dame boys’ and girls’ basketball.
Grzesk, Fayta, and Whitehouse have all signed to play collegiate basketball. Grzesk will attend UW-Madison, Fayta will attend Illinois State and Whitehouse will attend Northern Michigan University.
Those three have also played AAU basketball together with the Purple Aces for a long time.
Fayta elaborated on their journey saying, “Gracie and I have been playing AAU with each other since 4th grade, and Syd joined us in 6th grade. This experience was one of the best experiences that I’ve had. I loved that we could travel places but also play the sport we love. Being undefeated and winning nationals last season was a surreal feeling, especially since it was our last year, but also since we could experience that on top of our state championships.”
As this basketball season has rolled into its last few weeks, the Tritons are still sitting on their motto of “Goin’ 4 it.” With a current 20-1 record, the back-to-back-to-back state champion Tritons are ready to finish the season strong.
“You have to show up to go up” is a quote that the team often talks about.
“They have demonstrated to all of our underclassmen what commitment and hard work ‘looks like’–whether that’s during the season, during the offseason, in the weight room, or before-during-after practice,” said Coach Rohde about this senior class.
“We seniors have been playing together since elementary school. The chemistry we all have with each other is so rare and unique. I don’t think I’ll experience anything quite like this again, said Greisen.
Grzesk also shared how “being on varsity these past 4 years has been so memorable and enjoyable. I am going to miss the memories of this team, the countless team dinners, and the journey we’ve spent together since 4th grade. It’s been one fun ride, and I’m excited to see how this year ends.”
The Tritons will finish off their regular season with three conference games and a game versus the current number four ranked team in Division One, the Hortonville Polar Bears.
