The girls’ basketball team suffered a loss in their first league game at home against Stone Ridge Christian on Jan. 2, 17-29.
Senior Micaela Bennett-Smith was injured in the game, scraping her knee while diving for the ball and jamming her finger while rebounding.
The girls had a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, mainly because the Knights travelled several times. However, the Cavs permanently lost their lead in the first minute of the second quarter.
“They got in our heads a little bit,” Bennett-Smith said.
“Because most people didn’t go to practices over Winter Break, myself included, we were really out of shape, and we weren’t making our shots.”
When the Cavs went on offense, they would break to the basket very fast. This tactic wasn’t successful, because it didn’t allow other players to reach the shooter and help rebound the missed shots.
Instead it allowed the Knights to easily get the ball, and since they were slower than the Cavs, they were able to move the ball around more and make more baskets.
Although the Knights had a large lead in the fourth quarter, 21-11, the Cavs never stopped being aggressive.
Even when the the Knights were ahead 29-17 with 15 seconds left, Bennett-Smith and senior Isabella Tochterman both leapt onto the ground and fought for a ball that a Knight had fumbled.
The Cavs’ next game will be Thursday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m. against Valley Christian at Sleep Train Arena.
“I am pretty excited (for the game), but I’m also really nervous,” Bennett-Smith said with a laugh.
“Valley Christian is a very good team. But if we practice really hard in the coming week, we will be more in sync than we were in this game,” she said.
On average, the Cavs score 38 points per game, whereas Valley Christian scores 57 points.
A spirit bus will take fans to the game to avoid the $10 parking fee.
