Junior captain Naima Michael-Crushshon ‘25 has been a part of Blake basketball since she was in seventh grade and has been on varsity since she was a freshman. The thing she likes most about playing basketball is the community. “Most of my closest friends I’ve gotten from basketball,” said Michael-Crushshon, who also enjoys “working at something that I feel like I want to be good at.” She also believes that the team dynamic this year is much better than in past years. “I think we have really good relationships and we all really care about each other and we want to do well.” The team’s record is 12-10 this season, which she states is “not that great in general, but it’s good for our program.” This season, Michael-Crushshon is averaging 10.7 points per game and has scored 214 points in total.
Charley Bowles ‘26 has been on the Blake varsity basketball team for four years and is a captain. She enjoys playing with her friends and thinks that basketball is “a fun sport to play and it’s a nice form of exercise.” The team dynamic has also felt very positive this year. “Everyone’s a lot closer,” said Bowles, who added that the team is “a lot better than last season.” This year, she is averaging 11.7 points per game, which is currently the highest on the team. Last year, she averaged around 10 points per game, and this year she thinks that she has “increased my scoring and increased my efficiency.” Overall, she thinks that the team’s headspace is in a positive place. “It’s a lot more fun when we win.”
Freshman Alex Mithun ‘27 is in her second year on the varsity team. The things that she enjoys most about basketball are the practices, the games, and working hard, as well as the team atmosphere. “We’re not that good, but it’s fun, so it’s fine,” Mithun said. Mithun is averaging 10.5 points per game this year, and says “I think I’ve improved a lot this year and my scoring PPG has gone up a lot.” She is averaging 10.5 points per game this year as compared to her 7.1 average last season. Mithun’s highest number of points in a game this season is 18 in a game vs. Apple Valley on Dec. 15. She has already scored more points than last year, with 114 total points last season and 137 this year with three games remaining in the regular season.
Freshman Raina Prigge ‘27 has played on both C squad and varsity in her three years on the basketball teams and is currently playing for the C team. This year, the C squad team has had a very strong team dynamic. “I like the people on the team and I like the environment,” Prigge said. The environment has been one of the highlights for her this season specifically, and she has also enjoyed the coaches this season.This year, the C team’s record is 6-7, which Prigge states is “better than last year.” Many C team members are close with players on the varsity team, which has helped to strengthen the Blake basketball program as a whole.
