Both the boys and girls basketball teams for Pine Grove have qualified for the District XI Playoffs. The teams will take an extra couple of days to prepare to give them the best chance to win at the District XI Playoff. The two teams will prepare in different ways but also will have a few similarities. Alli Butler, girls basketball senior captain says, “We will be doing extra conditioning, and I will try to get us back to the fundamental skills. I will also be watching a film on the possible opponents. We are going to do some team bonding to help our team chemistry.” 

Head Coach of the Lady Cardinals, Kyler Burke says, “In preparation for the District XI Playoff, we are treating the postseason like a new season with similar drills for conditioning, skill development, defense, offense, and working on game situations. We are also bonding as a team with dinner and bowling. In terms of keys for the game, they are still somewhat unknown due to not knowing the opponent. However, they don’t change in terms of what we do; we need to play hard-nosed defense, handle any pressure, attack the basket offensively, have long possessions on offense, and knock down open shots. We’re excited to have the opportunity to extend our season and with one win we will qualify for the state tournament, which is very exciting.” The girls are confident and plan on working as hard as they can to make sure their season doesn’t come to an end just yet. 

Head Coach of the Boys Basketball team, Frankie D’Agostino says, “We will continue practicing hard after a few ‘lighter’ days. We will go at everything as close as possible to game speed once we ramp up and gameplan according to our opponent and what they like to do offensively and defensively. We’ll do drills that are competitive and require the players to go live to replicate game conditions. The keys to victory are hard to say since we don’t know our opponent, but free throws, rebounding, execution of the game plan, and energy/effort are always keys to any game.” Shea Morgan, junior captain says, “I will be watching film along with some of the other players and will be working on my individual game as much as possible outside of practice. We are all hungry and we believe that we can get a win and make states.Both Cardinal basketball teams are as hungry as ever and are willing to put in the extra work to help their teams succeed.