Girls basketball defeats Lansing at home
While being cheered on by the pep band, the Lady Jags beat the Lansing Lions 70-42 on Tuesday, Jan. 17
January 18, 2017
The girls basketball team defeated the Lansing Lions with a final score of 70-42 at home on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
The Lady Jags trailed the Lions during the first few minutes of the game, but recovered by leading the Lions by two points at the end of the first quarter. Throughout the rest of the game, the team continued to score, and with this win, their season record is now 5-3.
According to senior Ashlyn Hendrix, the team put in the effort needed to prepare for the game.
“We have been going really hard in practice, which affects our game play,” Hendrix said.
Throughout the game, junior Evan Zars, who scored 11 points, felt that certain plays Lansing ran created challenges for the team.
“When they did their dribble hand-offs, we were having a hard time covering it because we didn’t know whether to hold up or not and they scored some baskets on us that way,” Zars said.
Junior forward Evan Zars, who scored 11 points, attributed the team’s success to the ball control demonstrated on the court and the versatility on the team.
“I think we did a good job of moving the ball around,” Zars said. “It’s something we’ve been working on and we wanted to get everybody more touches because everyone on our team is able to score.”
Instead of playing music during the second half of the game, the pep band cheered on the team from the student section. Junior percussionist Marissa Olin thought it was important to encourage the team.
“Not a lot of people show up at girls basketball games,” Olin said. “A lot us already know the cheers, so we will cheer along with the cheerleaders to support the team.”
By running specific plays during the game, Zars worked with the team to score points.
“The plays we ran that were driving the ball or [passing] the ball inside and moving it back out were working,” Zars said. “We slowed down and executed the plays and that is when everything started to work.”
The game gave Zars and her teammates confidence in their talent and made them understand how practicing hard pays off on the court.
“This game showed us the potential we have as a team,” Zars said. “I think it will motivate us to work harder in practice to get where we need to be and to win against more competition going forward.”
The team’s next game will be against the Bishop Miege Stags on Friday, Jan. 20 at Bishop Miege High School.
