Portsmouth High School’s senior Haley Coombs is a key player on the girls Varsity basketball team. This year Coombs hopes to take the team to the championship, and she thinks it can be done. 

Haley Coombs has been a Varsity player since Freshman year and people are ready to see what she is capable of doing in her Senior season. 

“We expect Haley to step in and play a significant role for us. She’ll help us from a rebounding and defensive perspective and create some much-needed depth,” said Tim Hopley, PHS girls Varsity head coach. Coombs is a defensive player and has worked over the years to get better with help from Coach Hopley. 

The girls are currently 4-2 so far this season. The early losses will be a good motivator for the team to win it all. The team has many discussions about their issues and how they can fix them to build a better foundation.

Maddie MacCannell, PHS senior, has been a great teammate to Coombs and another valuable player on the PHS girls Varsity basketball team. MacCannell and Coombs have great chemistry on the court and work well together. 

“Haley Coombs has grown significantly as a basketball player, and has learned to play the game more and more every year. [She] became a big part of the team,” MacCannell said.

Coombs is expecting the skills of the team to grow and she thinks the team can make it all the way. “I think this year is most different because most of our players are basketball players first. Having a roster full of girls whose first sport is basketball goes a long way,” Coombs said. 

“We have to dare to be great,” said Hopley, “the team has to take risks and move outside of their comfort zone which is not an easy thing to do, but the team is able to do so.”

The team has a good outlook for the rest of the season and Coombs can help push the team forward. The girls next game will be tonight, Friday, January 19 at Portsmouth High School against Concord High School at 6pm.