It was a mixed bag of commanding victories and tight losses in the opening week of the season for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School winter sports teams, but coaches echoed that their teams’ best performances are yet to come.

On the court, the girls basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Monomoy 32-21 in the home opener. Coach Sterling Bishop pointed to freshman point guard Braiden Clark (11 points, seven steals) and “defensive anchor” Sasha Lakis (nine points, five blocks) as the game’s most valuable players. Though the win gave the team early season momentum, Mr. Bishop said it also led to overconfidence in the team’s 42-21 loss to Sturgis East on Thursday where the team struggled to combat a full court press that caused 17 turnovers. Overall, he said he’s proud of how the young team came together in their first week of play.

“We’re still in high spirits,” he said. “We have a very positive outlook for the remainder of the season.”

The team plays next at home on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. against Sturgis Charter School.

The boys basketball team’s first week started off with a grueling 78-69 overtime loss against Monomoy where three Vineyarders fouled out and one was injured in the fourth quarter. Coach Mike Joyce said he was impressed by the team’s resilience after being down 18 points in the first quarter, particularly from the team’s top scorer, point guard Jared Regan (17 points), backed up by Rammon Dos Santos, Dylan Dyke and Aidan Araujo.

“Coming out that slow is difficult, but the kids showed some toughness and battled back,” said Mr. Joyce.

The boys turned it around Thursday at home in a dominating 70-37 win against Sturgis Charter School where nearly every member of the team contributed points, led by Aiden Rogers with 17. Mr. Joyce said Sam Wallace and Mike Trusty were also standouts on defense.

The team’s next home game is set for Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Cape Cod Academy.

A string of three losses to more experienced teams made for a tough opening week for the girls hockey team, though coach John Fiorito said he was encouraged by some individual performances and increasing team confidence. He said goalie Amelia Simmons was a standout in all three games, never allowing the score deficit to get out of reach and giving the Vineyarders a fighting chance into the third period. Playing against Sandwich Saturday, senior captain Meghan Sonia took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a goal late in the game with an assist from Alex Rego.

Mr. Fiorito also praised performances by Lauren Boyd on defense, Ava BenDavid on offense and senior captain Hailey Meador’s leadership in the Sandwich game, her first game back from an injury.

“We get a little overwhelmed with the speed and experience of some of these other teams,” said Mr. Fiorito. “We try to hang in there and pick our spots. We’ll grow from it.”

The girls play Scituate at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Though the boys hockey team scored first in the opening minutes of the game, the Vineyarders fell 2-1 in their home opener to Attleboro last Saturday. Hunter Meader scored the Vineyarders only goal with an assist from freshman Jake Scott.

“We tilted the ice toward them late in the game but couldn’t capitalize,” said coach Matt Mincone. “It was a good test early in the season and I was proud of them.”

Fueled by the narrow opening defeat, the Vineyarders made quick work of Cape Cod Regional Tech on Thursday in a 9-0 shutout in front of a home crowd. Freshmen ruled the day, led by Cam Geary with a three-goal hat trick and two assists, and Jake Scott with two goals and two assists. Mr. Mincone said he was impressed by the performance, but the real challenge will come against Bourne this weekend. “They’re a senior-led high-powered offense,” he said. “We have to be disciplined and keep ourselves out of the penalty box.”

The matchup is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena.

The Vineyard swim team split their first swim meet of the season Thursday against Sandwich with an 86-81 win for the girls side and a 109-58 loss for the boys. Coach Jonathan Chatinover said there were plenty of good swims to go around, but contributions from the youngest members of the girls team were the biggest takeaway, led by seventh grader Olympia Hall, the winner of the 500 meter freestyle. He also praised Gabby Carr for qualifying for sectionals with a school record time of 1:04 in the 100 meter fly and a time of 2:09 in the 200 meter freestyle, and freshman Oliver Dorr on the boys side achieving a personal record time of 2:25 while winning the 200 meter individual medley.

“It’s good to see the young swimmers because they are the future of the team,” said Mr. Chatinover. “Overall, the team is doing really well.”

The swim team will next face Durfee in a home meet Tuesday at the YMCA starting at 3 p.m.

Both the girls and boys indoor track teams took home an opening meet win Tuesday against Southeastern, thanks to strong showings in the distance running and field jumping events. On the girls side, Amber Cuthbert finished first in both the mile (5:58) and 1,000 meter (3:36) races, and senior Mackenzie Condon topped the competition in three events: the long jump (15’2), high jump (4’8’’) and the 55 meter hurdles (9.2 seconds).

For the boys, Coach Joe Schroeder said juniors ruled the day led by Dash Christy’s first place finishes in the long jump (19’4) and 300 meter race (a personal best 38.8 seconds). Peter Burke also pitched in with a 1:34 time in the 600 meter race, along with Daniel Rivard in the 1,000 meter (2:58), Kieran Karabees in the two mile (11:28) and JoJo Bonneau in the 55 meter hurdles (8.5 seconds).

Next up for the track team is Bishop Stang on Tuesday starting at 3:30 p.m. at Wheaton College.