Family Dynamic and Superstitions Helped Propel Irvington Lady Bulldogs' 2012 Success

The three standout athletes for the Irvington Lady Bulldogs—Marley Giddins ( '12), Brittni Lai ('13) and Lexi Martins ('13)—answer questions about how they play basketball as if they were out on the court: they're poised, they take turns, and they allow their teammates to jump in when they notice someone's ready with an answer.

It's almost as if they've developed a certain kind of ESP—sensing exactly when to step in and when to hold back.

—and it's no wonder; these girls have given up all their vacations since November to practice, worked for two hours or more every school night and even come in on Saturday mornings to hone their skills. 

"If there's one thing everyone in the community should know about this team, it is how hard they've worked to be so successful," said 36-year Bulldogs coach Gina Maher. "It's not as if they stepped out onto a court, were handed a ball and started making baskets. They had to work incredibly hard for this."

Besides, Giddins, Lai and Martins, the other 2012 starting players were: Alyssa DiCampli and Ryan McMahon. Maher emphasized the importance of all 14 girls on the team. 

Last week, after winning the (as expected), the Lady Bulldogs pulled off an incredible come-from-behind win against Long Island Lutheran to become the 2012 Class B Federation Cahampions. 

"That was one of the only games I wasn't nervous watching because we were the total underdogs," Maher said. "We had nothing to lose. In most games the expectation is that we'll win, so everyone's disappointed if we don't."

Giddins, who has committed herself to Amherst College in Massachusetts next year, said the team's chemistry is one of their many secrets to success.

"We play together—as a team," she said. "Our ball movement is key; everyone contributes."

Lai jumped in: "We know everyone can shoot well, so we look for who's open and pass."

The team capitalized on making lots of "easy layups" this season," Maher commented, because they both run and pass so quickly and accurately.

"We caught other teams by surprise by passing the ball up the court as fast as possible," Giddins said.

And in order to pull that off, the girls conditioned hard throughout the long five-month season.

"I had them doing drills as well as running," Maher said. "By the end of the season, they weren't even winded after an intense 32-minute game."

If you're a basketball fan, you probably already know that practicing your team's passing and shooting abilities and conditioning them regularly are important, but what gave Irvington's team that extra edge this season?

"The entire team has kind of become a big family," Maher said.

Every night before a playoff game, the girls and their coaches meet at assistant coach Barbara Constantine's house for a special dinner prepared by the coaches. (The girls make salad and bring dessert.)

And at every dinner they eat the same. exact. things: salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, penne alla vodka, garlic bread and Arnold Palmer Lite.

"We're incredibly superstitious," Giddins said. "But I think our weird traditions help with our game."

For instance, the girls always touch the top of the door jamb as they leave the locker room before games and always run onto the court in the same order.

"And I never wash my uniform," Giddins said. "Just kidding."

"You come in as a Freshman and are immediately roped in by all of our little traditions," Martins added. "It brings us closer together."

Besides being star athletes, all 14 girls on the Irvington Girls Basketball team are outstanding students.

"Lots of teachers come to watch our games, so we never want to disappoint them by not turning in a paper or coming in unprepared for a test the next day," Martins said.

But having missed a lot of school over the last few weeks, Martins admitted that they're now "slammed with school work."

Lai, who's already being highly recruited by many elite college programs, said definitively that she'll choose a school based on academics first and basketball second.

"My favorite subject is history," she said. "So I hope to study that in college."

Clearly Giddins was of the same mindset, choosing to study at one of the highest-ranked liberal arts colleges in the nation.

"People think basketball is all about athleticism," Giddins said. "But it's really not. There's so much strategy behind the game. We spend more time running plays than shooting the ball. You really have to be intelligent to play basketball well."

What Martins loves most about the sport is that it's entirely about collaboration and teamwork. "Everyone on the team is held accountable," she said. "If one girl is struggling, someone else will pick her up. That's what I love about it."

Giddens grumbled. "I was going to say the same thing."

Also a fantastic high-jumper for the track team, Giddins said she thrives on the adrenaline she gets from being part of a team on the basketball court more than she does performing in individual sports. 

And Lai said she just loves playing.

"It's an amazing feeling to step on the court knowing that anything could happen on any given night," she said. "That's why we're so aggressive—why we never back down."

Even without Giddins, Maher and the Bulldogs are confident that they'll be able to capitalize on other talented players to excel next season.

But never say that out loud!

All three girls and Maher immediately knocked on the wooden table in the library when asked about the prospects of a Federation Championships repeat next year.

"We never talk about winning," Giddins said. "We're very superstitious."

See the entire 2012 roster below:

Laura DiCampli, Nikki Legha, Marley Giddins, Roxy Trama, Laurilyn Gelardi, Ryan McMahon, Lauren Chafizadeh, Alyssa DiCampli, Catherine Hoy, Jamie Gelardi, Alexis  Martins, Havanna Hall, Brittni Lai and Lucy Jones