On Dec. 9, the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams played against rival Hollidaysburg. Both games took place in the field house. The girls were victorious, while the boys were defeated.
The girls’ game started at 5 p.m..
Junior Zae Nguyen-Moore scored 10 points throughout the game.
“It [winning] felt very good,” Nguyen-Moore said. “We’ve been preparing, and we focused during practice, so all the hard work paid off.”
Key strategies for the girls included watching film and getting prepared on defense for the plays they were using.
Junior Sam Harpster scored three points in the second quarter.
“I scored a three in the second quarter, big three,” Harpster said. “Key moments of the game were when we were coming out of the half, we scored 10 points right off the bat, making a lead of 40 to 15.”
The girls were victorious in the end with a final score of 54-38. They are coached by Chris Fleegle.
“The key factors of the game were the overall unselfish play on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court,” Fleegle said. “The willingness to buy into the game plan defensively and on offense playing as a team and finding the best shots available. The practice preparation leading up to the Mt Lebo and Hollidaysburg games was the best we have had so far this season. We just need to continue to buy into the philosophy of you practice like you play. The harder, more consistent effort we have at practice the more we are going to grow as a team throughout the year.”
The boys’ team played at 7 p.m..
Junior Ashton Barr practices everyday with the team.
“We work hard every day at practice and need to stay together as a team to keep pushing,” Barr said. “They [Hollidaysburg] had a fast break. A kid went up for a layup and Josh Lowery blocked it off the backboard. We should have beat them, but we’ll see them again towards the end of the year.”
They will play Hollidaysburg again in February.
Junior Chris Wagner scored 12 points throughout the whole game. He had a couple layups, free-throws and one three-pointer.
“We had to just stick to our plays and stick to our offense that we run,” Wagner said. “Chemistry is definitely very important. We didn’t have a lot of that during the game. I feel like that’s mainly one of the reasons why we lost.”
The boys lost with a final score of 65-56. They are coached by Doug Pfeffer.
“The players showed tremendous energy and fight in this rivalry game,” Pfeffer said. “A slow start had us facing an uphill battle from the beginning. We fought our way back into the game, but just didn’t make enough shots late or stop them on defense to get over the hump. If we show this effort the rest of the season and can make timely shots, we will be in position to win games this season. The team has worked hard and hopefully that hard work and determination will result in a successful season.”