In the aftermath of the highly-anticipated season opening Lutheran North Tournament last week from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, the varsity team emerged with a third-place title following a hard-fought 58-47 loss to Lutheran North High School. Opening the tournament with a 40-24 win against Notre Dame High, and ending with a 57-43 win against Visitation High, the team still stands as a force to be reckoned with.

Though the varsity girls overcame Lutheran North last year to take the championship title, they still remain proud of the work they put in during the game against last year’s state runner-up. For sophomore Aria Lynch, guard, it was a loss they could learn from.

“[Playing against those teams] was something we needed to do,” Lynch said. “The second game was a learning curve, and for the first game it was just getting out there and having fun, doing what we do best, playing basketball. It’s just a matter of getting out there and focusing on the mindset and blocking everything else out.”

Ranking senior leader and guard Aleuria Alderson agreed, still confident in her team’s ability.

“[Lutheran North is] a really, really aggressive team – super tough and very athletic – it was a tough game. There really wasn’t any time for breaks, even on defense; you had to be ready to go all the time,” Alderson said. “Even though we lost, it shows how we match up to such great competition, and if we were only down by nine, instead of being blown-out, it still sets us as a really solid team.”

Following the title loss, Alderson and her team continue to push ways in which they can improve for future games, especially later in the districts circuit.

“They had some really easy looks off our defense that we didn’t get,” Alderson said. “They looked to attack the paint a lot, and catch up on some cheap fouls. We kept fouling them by those little cheap fouls, so they kept making free throws, and they made a lot of them. We’re looking to cover up a lot of stuff on defense, run our plays efficiently, and run the floor. If we play a half-court thing, that’s not what [we’re about].”

Senior Hannah Currant, center, also hopes to help improve the team’s defense, as well as their composure whilst in the thick of the game.

“I think we lost because we didn’t make free throws and we had turnovers that were unnecessary,” Currant said. “Our defense definitely [could be improved], and we need [more] composure when we play.”

“[We need] more communication between each other, just learn how to focus more and not let ourselves slip towards the end of the games when it is that final stretch — not let go,” Lynch added. “[What led us to the loss was] just a difference of mindset, in the second one we just got really tired towards the end. We were excited for the first game, we knew what we were there to do.”

Currant too noted the intense duress put onto her and her team by the former state-runner up.

“It was really a lot of pressure, very fast, a little different pace. I think we just didn’t know how to handle it, which led to more turnovers,” she said.

As the team looks toward the greater length of the coming season, they remain hopeful in their ability to come out on top when it matters.

“I think we’ve been doing pretty good, like, really good,” Lynch said. “We learned how to play with each other more, understand what is going on; we are actually talking, communicating.”

Alderson agreed.

“Our team is very fast, we have a lot of speed, pushing the ball up the floor with speed is definitely our thing,” she said. “If we just keep running, keep running them, we have a good chance.”

Links:

FHC GBB (main account) – https://twitter.com/FHCgirlsbball

Girls BBall News – https://twitter.com/FHCGBNews

Coach Haley Leake – https://twitter.com/Hayley_Leake