The young men and women of the Gloucester High School basketball program will be looking for growth this year as they compete in the Peninsula District.

The Lady Dukes, under the leadership of head coach Amy O’Neil, went 8-14 last season but she feels that they can exceed that mark in the coming months.

“These girls are determined to win and we haven’t always had that in the past,” said O’Neil during Monday’s practice.

The Lady Dukes are strong defensively and rely on full and half court press to force turnovers. Zebe Rhodes, Kenna Keyes and Cameron O’Neil look like the team’s best trap and press defenders going into the season.

The team sits at 2-1 following a Tuesday night matchup against a talented Kecoughtan team. O’Neil said that if her team can limit their fouls on the defensive side then they have the potential to play well on both sides of the ball.

“Last year began our trend upward,” the coach said, &ldqu...