In the middle of the first quarter, with the Lions winning 11-4, the Spencerville Adventist Academy Hornets called a timeout. The Lions congratulated the starters and clapped each other on the back, excited about their achievements so far in the game. 

However, the Lions would proceed to lose their large lead by the next quarter and ultimately lost 53-40 to the Hornets in the PVAC AA Championships at Gaithersburg High School on Thursday.

Despite losing the tipoff, the Lions got off to a promising start and scored first with a layup from sophomore Tali Loeffler. After more baskets from the Lions and a few points scored by the Hornets, the Lions had achieved a seven-point lead, causing the timeout from the Hornets. 

Both teams were aggressive and initially had even time with the ball. With the help of some foul shots, the Hornets gradually closed the gap and the Lions ended the quarter only one point ahead of the Hornets.

“I think that we had the skill to win,” sophomore Ella Longman said.

Going into the game, the Lions were the first seed, while the Hornets were the third. The Lions had beaten the Hornets twice before. However, recognizing that the Hornets had improved over the season, the Lions practiced double-teaming the Hornets and focusing on their bigs playing defense for the game.

“I think obviously we put up a good effort, but we just need more practice with that to be more successful,” senior and captain Shani Schwartz said of the new techniques, adding that “it was still a work in progress.”

The Lions started the second quarter off with a basket from Longman, but the Hornets soon tied the game 14-14. After a foul call on the Lions, the Hornets made one out of two foul shots and took the lead that they would maintain for the remainder of the game.

The teams fought aggressively throughout the rest of that quarter, but the Hornets were able to garner more points and went into halftime winning 26-18.

“Offensively our shots weren’t falling today. Though, we were able to run through most of our progressions,” Longman said. Longman also said that the team mostly maintained their energy throughout the game. 

Schwartz started the third quarter off strong by scoring a three-pointer. Schwartz was the leading scorer with 16 points, playing her last game at CESJDS. In her junior year, she was both PVAC Player of the Year and the PVAC tournament MVP. This season, she averaged 18.5 points per game.

“I’ve enjoyed every bit of it [being on varsity basketball], and I’ve had so much fun,” Schwartz said. “I’m very thankful to all my teammates, and all my coaches.”

The rest of the quarter was full of shots and impressive plays from both teams, including a series of rebounds from the Lions. Despite the Lions’ effort, they were unable to catch up to the Hornets, as both teams scored around the same amount of points in the quarter. 

While the Lions entered the last quarter down 11 points, they didn’t give up. The bench started ‘defense’ chants and loudly encouraged whoever had the ball. The team’s determination was also evident through their aggressive offense. The Lions took many shots and while they managed to slightly close the gap in the scoring, the Hornets continued to score and won.

“I was disappointed that we lost,” Schwartz said. “But I was proud of our team and I think we had a really good season and we all had a lot of fun together.”

Head Coach Becky Silberman is satisfied with the team’s season as a whole. 

“This is gonna feel really sad right now,” Silberman told the team after the game, “[But looking back on the season] they’re not going to remember this one loss, they’re going to remember the whole season.”

According to Silberman and the players, the season was one of growth and improvement. Their record was 9-1 in conference.

“I told them to keep their heads up,” Silberman said. “We played a good team.”