VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Virginia Wesleyan women's basketball went through its fair share of lumps during Megan Belo's first year as the program's head coach.
Those rough seas, however, have led to calmer waters in her second season leading the squad.
"It's just been so fun," Belo said of this season so far. "I think for them, the buy-in, the excitement around what we're doing and the belief, most importantly. They just believe in themselves."
They've built that belief thanks to their battles together. Seven players are back from last year's squad that finished 5-19 and won just one conference contest. But now those players are the foundation of Belo's program and the tide is rising for the Marlins.
"Every plan I've had, they've blown everything out of the water," the head coach said of her players. "I think that starts with them and their abilities to continue to give it everything they've got."
It's working, as this year's VWU squad is 8-5 on the campaign entering the week. The eight victories match the number of wins from the program's last two seasons combined. The Marlins are chasing their first winning record since the 2018-2019 season and already have two ODAC triumphs under their belts.
"All of these things are a brand new experience," Belo pointed out. "For them, just to continue to build confidence. Every time we do something on the court it's like 'hey guys, we can do this,' and now they're like 'oh wait, I can because I just did it.'"
"This is now my third year," added junior point guard Maesyn Blaylock. "I've come back every year because I love my teammates and I want to play. It's just great being a part of this winning season and being able to change the culture."
With the results comes comes confidence. Virginia Wesleyan is starting to see some of the close games go its way and has played some stiff competition, such as Christopher Newport and Shenandoah, very close despite losses.
"I think we all can agree that the atmosphere's just different," Blaylock noted. "We're all confident and we know we're deserving of this. We know that we need to continue to work hard though and just keep it up."
"I've got the biggest smile on my face because they deserve it," Belo smiled. "This program deserves it, our [athletic director] deserves it. They took a chance on me, a first year head coach, to kind of build this place back up."
The Marlins have accomplished a lot already, but still have plenty yet to achieve. The top eight teams in the conference will advance to the ODAC Tournament and Virginia Wesleyan hopes to make a splash right into the postseason.
"I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think if we just continue to work hard, we know what we can do," Blaylock said. "We can win."
"Guys, we're making the ODAC Tournament," Belo said of her message to her team. "We have our sights set out, OK great, last year was last year, but this year is completely different. We've got a new make-up, new group and the belief of 'oh wait, we can do this and we're going to be dangerous.'"
Virginia Wesleyan is back in action Wednesday night when the Marlins travel to Guilford.
