Athletics
Spartans News
SG Basketball: When the Going Gets Tough...
This past Monday’s revenge match vs Salesien (we’d lost our first meeting by 1 point in our first game of the season) may turn out to be a real learning opportunity for this team.
It was the first time in weeks that we faced a hyper-aggressive opponent that played full-court pressure, and when coupled with loose refereeing that allowed a ton of contact, at times it looked and felt more like rugby out there than basketball.
And we did not react well, at least on offence, to this full-contact game. We let ourselves get rocked back on our heels. We got reactive; skittish and jittery. We turned the ball over in transition, which we hadn’t done for a while. We rushed our jump shots, shooting more air balls in this game than in the previous 10 games combined. And most disturbingly, we rushed our gimmes and bunnies, missing an absurd total of 14(!) uncontested layups.
There was some good news. A few of the girls did manage to play within themselves and not get rattled by the physicality of the game. Notably, Abby Murray, Samantha Smith and Lea-Rose Remillard’s decisions and pace on offence stayed consistent (although Abby did play with a little more “nasty” than usual).
And most importantly, our defence was as lockdown as ever. Two points allowed in the first quarter, 5 in the second quarter, 6 in the third quarter, and 5 in the fourth. A full team effort, highlighted by Alex Smith, Emily Willis and Van Pham’s intelligent rotations, and Mackenzy St-Pierre’s air traffic control in the middle.
When the dust cleared, the scoreboard read 33-18 for the Red & White, but more important than the win is the realization that we must use this game to improve. We are going to face similar teams this season, where toughness matters more than strategy. Where we need to play with a little more “nasty.” Let’s use what we learned this time to make us better next time.
- Coaches Van Dyke & Wolfe
The year so far….
Overall Record: 16 wins 2 losses
RSEQ League Play: 3 wins 1 loss
Points for per game: 39.5 Points allowed per game: 31.1
Stanstead Invitational Tournament CHAMPIONS
M.I.S. Tournament CHAMPIONS
© 2017 Stanstead College. All Rights Reserved.