Luther East v.2

Last night we played half of the games we originally planned to play at Luther East. We got word in the afternoon that, due to illness and bad grades, Luther East didn't have enough boys to play our scheduled game. The girls game, however, was still on. We had just played Luther East in the loser's bracket at the Victory Invite on Saturday, losing 35-20. Of course we were adjusting to playing without Rachel, who had gone down in the first game, and with only five players. And, of course with me coaching. On the other side, I learned from the coach that three of his players had other engagements on Saturday. As we arrived, LE was on the floor warming up, and sure enough, there were at least a couple of players we didn't recognize.

Holly, Cass's sister, had joined the team and had practiced for the first time Monday. Since she had so little practice time, Coach was going to play her very little, but circumstances dictated a change in that strategy. The starting five then were, well, everyone else that was healthy. Rachel was at the game, not on crutches, but walking with a noticeable limp. The girls started out very well. Hannah made her first attempt and Cassidy made her second. Later Cassidy dropped in a three and the girls were ahead 7-2. Coach put in a 2-1-2 defense to combat LE's deadly outside shooting and it worked very well, especially early. Later in the quarter LE started heating up, but not before HSRC had their first four-point play attempt. Hannah hit a three and got fouled in the process. She missed the free throw, but it was a first in Patriot history, as far as I can remember. The Patriots had a 12-7 lead until LE hit a three right at the end of the quarter.

The scoring slowed in the second, as LE started getting more aggressive on defense. HSRC maintained their lead, but just barely. Corinne scored her first basket to put us up four. LE made a shot, then Cassidy got her second three. After LE had pulled to within three on a basket, Hannah again got fouled on a three attempt, but this time the shot didn't go in. She made one of the ensuing three free throws to put the Patriots up four. Meanwhile, Carolyn picked up her fourth foul, as she was trying to deal with girls much larger than she under the basket, so Holly came in for the first time. One more time LE scored late, and the lead remained at two at the half.

After the halftime break, LE came out very strong on defense. Cass wasn't finding the top of the key open like she did earlier, as it seemed LE was playing a match-up zone. At least they were pulling the top of the zone out and picking up Cass outside of her shooting range. The result was more turnovers and fewer shots for our girls. Hannah scored first, making a free throw after yet another foul on a three-point attempt. Our only other score was a three-pointer by Hannah. LE wasn't making their threes, but they were crashing the boards and making twos. They pulled ahead for the first time in the quarter and ended leading 24-22 at the end of the quarter.

LE's defense was very aggressive in the fourth. They were as active in the fourth as they were passive in the first. They were getting nearly every loose ball and every contested rebound. LE outscored the Patriots 13-3 over the first five minutes or so of the quarter, with our only basket being a three by Corinne. She was being left open, but besides the one, the shots were not dropping for her. Coach encouraged the girls to pick up the defense full-court at this point. They were very tired, but responded to the request. Melody's aggressive play paid off on a short shot in the lane that went in for the first points of her career. Later Corinne was fouled and made both of her free throws. Our defense shut LE down, but those were the only points we could score, and the game ended 37-29 in favor of the hosts.

Hannah and Cassidy tied for scoring honors, each tallying 10 for the game. Corinne had her biggest scoring night with seven, and Melody's basket rounded out the scoring. Corinne continued her rebounding prowess, pulling down twelve boards while Melody added eight. Cassidy had a nice passing night with four assists. Melody had three steals and Cassidy had three blocks.

Our next games are scheduled for next Tuesday, December 14. I am going to stop saying "our next games are" because the way things are going this year, we can't depend on any game happening for certain. The games are against Southside Baptist in Oak Lawn. Girls' game is at 4:30 and the boys' is at 6:00. See you there.