Girls basketball wins 56-44 against Olathe West
The Jags won the first of two substate games on Thursday, Feb. 28
March 1, 2019
The girls basketball team won against Olathe West Owls on Thursday, Feb. 28 at home with a final score of 56-44. The win advances the team to the final substate game before state.
Mill Valley wins 56-44! Way to go ladies!
— Mill Valley News (@millvalleynews) March 1, 2019
According to senior Claire Kaifes, the team went into the game with a strong mindset.
“I know that we wanted to start off strong,” Kaifes said. “[We wanted to go] out and get them down early and just keeping adding to the lead as we go.”
Throughout the whole game, the Jags held a strong lead against the Owls. At half time, the Jags led with a score of 25-13.
Mill Valley 25 Olathe West 13 at halftime.
— Mill Valley News (@millvalleynews) March 1, 2019
Kaifes is satisfied with the results of the game and how the team played.
“I am really proud of how the game turned out,” Kaifes said. “We all played very hard and I feel like we had players step up and shoot for a lot of open shots.”
Senior Presley Barton believes that the teamwork was a factor to their success.
“We all played as a team instead of individually trying to win the game and we all worked hard throughout the whole game,” Barton said.
Head coach Drew Walters believed that both offense and defense played strongly.
“We had some players step up and make some good shots and a lot of [our opponents
] buckled down defensively,” Walters said. “[Our opponents] had some nice offensive players and we limited what they could do.”
Though Walters always sees room for improvement, he believes that the team performed well throughout the game.
“Everyday, I think we can continue to build on [teamwork] but obviously tonight we were pretty connected and locked in,” Walters said. “We have been struggling a little bit defensively, but tonight we made some plays and played [well] together.”
Kaifes thinks that this game will prepare the team for their next substate game.
“This game was definitely a challenge and it kind of got us into that mindset for the next game. [It’s a] win and keeping going and if you lose you’re done [mindset].”
The Jags will play their second substate game away on Saturday, March 2 against Olathe North.