Poly Prep’s Varsity Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball Teams have opened their seasons with clear goals and early successes, setting up an exciting winter ahead. The Girls’ Basketball Team opened their season with a game on November 17, while the Boys’ Team began November 12. “I think every year is kind of like you’re starting from scratch… It creates this opportunity for other students and players to really step up,” said Girls’ Head Coach and Upper School Dean Cherkira Lashley.
According to MaxPreps, the Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team has faced one tough loss to Grand Street High School, 33-49. Their optimism and determination carried them through the next game on November 20, when Poly beat Brooklyn Law and Tech.
While proving game performance is important, the team also emphasizes developing leadership skills. Coaches try “to resist the notion that you have to be a certain age to lead,” Lashley said. Typically, it is the upperclassmen who are the leaders of athletic teams, which is why, on the Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team, it is prioritized that every member be given the opportunity to voice their opinions, regardless of age. Lola Carss ’26 exemplifies this notion. As a senior at Poly and a multi-sport athlete, Carss has been a natural leader since her sophomore year of high school. At the beginning of the 2025-26 season, Girls’ Basketball has “gotten better at pushing each other in practices, so that when we play in games, we’re not surprised by the competition we’re facing,” said Carss.
This team has faced significant changes heading into this winter. After losing many seniors from the previous season, they have focused on team bonding and court coordination. “The team has done a good job adjusting without them and filling the places that they left,” said Carss.
Lashley’s unique job as Head Coach and a Dean intertwines many different aspects of Poly, leaving her to deal with emotional, physical, academic and athletic successes and challenges daily. Lashley understands her student priorities, especially how they vary by interest and personality. She demonstrates these thoughts and concepts from being a dean, and implements them with the Girls’ Basketball Team by creating workouts and drills to advance her players in basketball and any other sports they focus on outside the winter season. This inclusivity of different kinds of strength is a goal the Girls’ Basketball Team strives to achieve, to allow everyone’s voices to be heard.
In addition, the Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team has launched a successful season so far, cramming their weekdays with games and scrimmages, and weekends with intense practices. “Our goal everyday is to get better as a team and as a group. Taking it one game at a time and trying to win one game at a time,” said Varsity Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Edgar De La Rosa.
According to MaxPreps, the team has started the season with three scrimmages and two league games, losing only one scrimmage and maintaining an impressive record. They poured all their excitement and anticipation into the opening-season scrimmage on November 12, resulting in a big win over New Dorp High School. Only two days later, this team maintained their energy and exceeded expectations with another win over Curtis High School. Leaving their home court, they faced a tough loss on November 18 against St. Peter’s High School. The break in their winning streak only heightened their determination for their first league game, as they were satisfied with their 89-30 win over Eagle Academy High School.
One of the starting players has expressed that, similarly to the Girls’Basketball Team, “I think the expectation is that we’d be a little bit worse because our starting lineup consisted of so many seniors, but actually, we’ve been playing really well,” said Tobi Petrzela ’27, who has been playing basketball at Poly since his freshman year. He mentions that the team has demonstrated immense growth over the offseason. “We already know everything, and now it’s just doing it every day,” said Petrzela. 
