For Bellport girls basketball coach Rynese Holmes, there have been a lot of teaching moments this season.

That’s what happens when you have a young team, which for the Clippers this season includes a starting lineup of eighth-graders Gizelle Edwards and Cassie Comeau, freshman Arriana Henry, sophomore Mariah Battist and senior Maddie Fox.

The Clippers graduated seven players from last year’s team that made it to the Suffolk AA championship game. Among the players they lost were career 1,000-point scorer Brynn Johnsen and forward Autumn Simon. Johnsen is playing lacrosse at Messiah University and Simon is playing basketball for Queens College.

The Clippers are working with a roster of just seven players and went into their League IV game Tuesday night at Smithtown West looking for their first win of the season.

They played hard throughout against a taller, more experienced Smithtown West team. Bellport came out on the short end of a 56-21 score, but the Clippers impressed with their tenacity. They dove for loose balls, fought for rebounds, and played tough defense against a Smithtown West squad that came into the game at 7-1 and tied for first place in the league.

“We probably had 10 offensive rebounds,” Holmes said. “We didn’t get to capitalize on them, but it made a difference in how many times we had the ball.”

“That’s what we try to instill in Bellport culture,” Holmes said. “Win or lose, we’re going to play until the final bell goes off.”

Battist led the Clippers with 9 points. Comeau added 7 points. Smithtown West’s Alyssa Lorefice was the game’s high scorer with 15 points.