Senior Abby Watson attempts a free throw.
The game was up in the air for the girls as communication among them almost cost them the win.
The girls varsity team played a tough game Friday against Spring Hill but ultimately won, 47-43.
The Cardinals started the game with a hustle commonly seen in past games, holding a 6-point lead coming out of the second quarter. Neck hairs began to rise in the third quarter as Spring Hill started to gain momentum.
Head coach Brandon Parker came into the game knowing this would be a hard opponent.
“They are disciplined and have some kids that can really put the ball in the hole,” Parker said. “We knew it was going to be tough. We broke it open there at the end, but this is everything I thought it would be.”
Spring Hill offense was able to pull off some unwanted screens coming out of halftime that played a role in more layups than the Cardinals were anticipating.
Senior Harper Schreiner believed her team was lacking the communication necessary to defend the critical plays by the opposing team.
“We got stuck on their flex screen a lot. We communicated a couple of times, but we need to work on talking through screens more because that almost killed us tonight,” Schreiner said.
Schreiner wanted more “intensity” from herself and her team. Intensity can no longer be lacking and the team will need it if it wants to keep up with the games to come, she said.
While the ferocity from the Cards was not at its max, confidence is still the unrelieved constant for the team. The Cardinals showed up to play with the desire to win coupled with some crowd-pleasing 3-pointers by players like sophomore Kenzie Yoder.
“We were getting in our own heads and once we started communicating on our screens and switching, it started coming together,” Yoder said.
The girls play again Tuesday against Baldwin. The girls’ record is now 17-1.
The team will have a practice regarding the plays they saw against Spring Hill. The next game will take place on Senior Night and the Cards are ready to bring back that missing intensity.
“We played a lot of close games this season so I know we can gut it out in the end,” Schreiner said.
Reach reporter William Crow at [email protected].
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