Last season, the Surrey Mustangs girls’ basketball team dropped both of their games in the District 12 Tournament, but they are not discouraged and head coach Ron Aberle is seeking more in 2022-23.

“Our goal is definitely to make it to the regional tournament this year. We’ve fallen just short of that the last couple of years,” Aberle said.

Throughout the summer, the Mustangs played basketball together and worked on developing their basketball IQ. This is something Aberle believes not only makes his job as the coach easier but can help them reach their goals next season.

“They played a lot of summer basketball, and they are basketball smart. You don’t have to give them x’s and o’s, they can see what the defense is giving them and go off of that,” he said.

On the court, the Mustangs will be returning Amanda Severson, Amelia Hoffman, Harli Dickman, and Mia Aberle who are the seniors of the group and have been in the starting lineup since they were sophomores.

In addition to those four, Aberle expects Melissa Dougan to be a key contributor coming off her All-District season last year. The sophomore class and a couple of eighth graders will also earn minutes for the Mustangs this year.

With the expectation of being a strong defensive team, Aberle also believes that since the girls have played basketball together for many years, that can be a strength of the team, too.

“I think once of our strengths is the fact that these kids have played together for so many years, they are kind of veterans at the game. A lot of these kids have been playing together since they were in kindergarten.”

On offense, the Mustangs have a lot of athletes who possess the ability to create their own shots, as well as the ability to make their way to the basket to score.

To begin the season, the Mustangs will be at home when they host Garrison on Nov. 29 with a 7:15 p.m. tip. Following that game, the team will participate in the Nedrose Tournament, beginning on Dec. 5.