Game after game, running up and down the court, a strange pain looms in her hip. Attempting to play through the pain, she finishes the game, but afterward feels her hip begin to lock. Unable to move her leg, sophomore Maryn Talyat realizes that this pain in her hip might be more than something she can just play through.

With the women’s basketball season quickly approaching, Talyat holds high hopes for this year compared to last. Last year she was just a freshman with nothing to prove, and Talyat had her older sister, Lilian Talyat, on the team supporting her. Now, with her sister graduated, and with Talyat working her way back from an injury, she finds herself feeling uneasy about the season.

“This injury has made me want to play more because I couldn’t play for so long,” Talyat said.

Talyat has not been able to play basketball for seven months because of this injury, but in the face of adversity she has chosen to fight for her spot on the court. 

Coming off a 2 to 12 season in the 2020-2021 basketball season, Talyat holds high hopes and expectations for this upcoming season.  “For this season I am excited about winning and hopefully making the playoffs,” she said. 

Fans of the Dakota Ridge women’s basketball team are also looking forward to a great season.

“I think this season is going to be very good for the players,” sophomore Megan Tampa said. 

Talyat has been preparing for the season with the team, well before their first game, by holding some pre-season workouts and participating in a pre-season tournament against other high schools. She has been involved in as many of these pre-season practices as she can attend in order to start the season off on the right foot.

This season will also be a different environment for Taylat because her older sister graduated last year. 

“Playing with my sister was fun, so not being able to play with her this year will definitely suck a little, but I’m glad I at least got to play with her for one year,” Talyat said. 

Women’s basketball crowds were small last year, and virtual streaming was a way the students of Dakota Ridge were able to support the athletes. This year there has been a return to some normalcy, so more students will be able to attend games. 

“I am planning on going to some basketball to support the team,” Tampa (10) said.

The knowledge that fellow classmates plan to attend games adds some additional anxiety for Talyat but also brings excitement for those who have never experienced the addition of a crowd of peers due to the pandemic. 

Although the lead up to this women’s basketball season has been full of many different obstacles for Maryn Talyat, she is still looking forward to this season and what it holds in the cards for the team.