Varsity Basketball Honors 10 Seniors
As winter sports ended, the basketball teams celebrated their Senior Nights honoring the seniors on their teams when they played their last home games before graduating. The boys’ Senior Night happened on Wednesday January 31st at the GCS Gym, where Grace played against Packer. Before the game, Coach Quinn introduced each senior one-by-one to center court to a big round of applause by the crowd. The fact that it was the last home game of the year was an advantage because the crowd was emotionally charged and made the gym the loudest I have heard it all year and even though we came up short at the end, the energy was high the entire game. 
Coach Quinn was happy with how the game went: “Senior Night is always an emotional day, the last home game for our seniors. This year we had five seniors; Jack Pickard, Davis Colley, Langston Henry, Ben Chang, and Nathan Botero. Unfortunately, we did not have the record we would have liked this year, but our boys were highly motivated to play with their best effort on Senior Night. We played a very good first, but struggled in the third quarter. The fourth quarter that night may have been our best quarter all season. We were down double digits entering the fourth quarter, but managed to cut the lead to two. Although we came up short, losing by two, it was a great game to send our senior class off with.” Quinn was also pleased with the home court advantage the crowd brought to the games. “The gym was packed with family, friends, faculty and staff. It was a great atmosphere in the 86 gym, one full of support. All five of them will always have a place in my heart for their dedication and contribution to our program.”
Jack Pickard ‘18 added, “Senior Night was special because I have been going to Grace my whole life. It was my last game in my own gym and I will remember it for the rest of my life. Despite not winning, it was an incredible game and the atmosphere was electric.”
A week later, and a little more successful, the Girls’ Senior Night took place on Friday, February 9, when they took on Riverdale. The 86 Gym was packed with students who came to support five senior girls who are graduating at the end of May:
Camille Amezcua, Angelika Rodriguez, Jane Platt, Kate Platsker, and Tia Richards. Before the game, Ms. Armijos recognized the five seniors with a speech and each senior had their own poster made with their name and photos. It was a close game with the final score being 32-30 in favor of Grace. Ms. Armijos was really pleased with how it went and how the crowd was engaged with each basket saying, “I thought it was the most exciting atmosphere that I ever coached in at Grace. These five seniors are a special group. Each one of them has played an important part on our team. They are some of the most unselfish players and have led us to some of the biggest wins in our short history as a school. I will miss them a great deal next year.”
Angelika Rodriguez ‘18 was happy with how her last game in the 86 gym went: “Everyone played well and the support we got was insane… It was great energy… At the end, Ms. A hugged me and it was a moment of accomplishment to beat Riverdale in our final home game after losing to them last year. It closed a whole chapter of basketball in high school for me.” We will miss these seniors on both teams and the basketball teams are looking to build upon the positivity of these games as they work towards improving next year.
great article, david!