It’s that time of the year again.

Stuber Gym is full of sweaty faces hustling down the court, shoes screeching across the wooden floor, and cheers from the sideline as great plays are made.

The Clayton girls’ varsity basketball team played its first three home games Nov. 30, Dec. 2 and 3 in the annual CHS tournament.

The CHS girls’ varsity basketball team kicked off their first home game against Vashon. The then 0-1 Hounds began with a rocky start, struggling to play their game in the first half.

Starting the second half, the Hounds were on top 37 to 14, but had over 10 fouls and 16 turnovers. Despite the mistakes of the first two quarters, the girls came together in the second half with just five team fouls and nearly 30 more points on the board.

The defense dominated, switching between an aggressive man-to-man in the first half and a two-three zone in the third, letting up just 11 points in the second half.

Senior Maggie Lanter led with nine rebounds out of the team total of 38. Offensively, the team was led by senior Chelsea Granberry with 18 points to win the game 65-25

The Hounds faced off against Principia in their next game. Clayton struggled the whole game, trying to take on the great defense of the Principia Panthers. Unable to run through their offense, the Greyhounds were defeated 7-45.

Principia went on to beat Vashon on the third night of the tournament taking second place with a 2-1 record.

On Thursday night the Hounds played Saint Clair, 2-0 in the CHS tournament. The Lady Hounds started out well, taking the lead early in the first quarter. Things were looking good as the Hounds were able to run through their offense and stop St. Clair on defense.

The Greyhounds’ deficit at the half was a surprise to both coaches and players. The team’s inability to get the rebound on defense allowed St. Clair to put the ball back up for an easy two points repetitively.

As a team, the Hounds had 11 assists and five steals. Even so, St. Clair went on to win the game, taking first place and going home with a record of 3-0.

The undefeated St. Clair had much to celebrate. Along with the first place trophy, one of St. Clair’s top senior players took home the game ball as a momentum to the game in which she scored her career total of over 1,000 points.

Despite the tough losses during the second half of the tournament, the Hounds were able to take a lot from their games so they can make adjustments for later in the season. Senior captain Maggie Lanter learned a lot about the team and what changes need to be made for the team to be successful.

“I learned that we don’t have one strong offensive player anymore like we had last year with Mary Barber,” Lanter said. “So we are going to need multiple people to step up offensively and defensively. We just need to try new things and find what will make our team successful.”

The team has many challenges to overcome in order to meet its goals for the season.

“We all want to beat Ladue again, like we did last year,” Lanter said. “I just want to overcome our challenges and finish the season with a winning record.”

Coach Steve Lanter believes the girls can reach this goal if they continue to work hard and stick to the basic fundamentals.

“The team needs to consistently play hard with both mental and physical toughness,” Steve Lanter said. “What we learned from the tourney is that basic fundamentals will keep us competitive and in games. Every possession counts and we need to get a quality shot every time down the floor.”

The Hounds will take on Lutheran South on Monday Dec. 14 at 7 pm in Stuber.

“Our girls have great attitudes and are working hard, so come and check us out!!” Steve Lanter said.