The crowd erupts with cheer as power forward and eighth grade student Adelle Elgrably hits a shot from the block. This play began JDS’ eight point scoring run in the second half of their game on Jan. 9. Ultimately, the JDS girls middle school team lost to Forcey Christian Middle, 26-14.
The first quarter began with coordinated passing from Forcey Christian. The Forcey Christian Falcons were able to outmaneuver the Lions when it came to ball movement and got several consecutive rebounds. The combination of these tactics led to multiple steals and three made layups for the Forcey Christian School.
The Falcon’s offense wove the ball directly through Lions’ 2-3 zone defense and resulted in two more layups, ending the quarter with Forcey Christian up 10-0.
Guard and eighth grade student Mae Stein was in the starting lineup for the Lions on Thursday night. Stein says that the other team’s athleticism was an obstacle for the JDS girls on the offensive end.
“They [the Falcons] were a lot faster and they were just getting a lot of fast breaks and open layups,” Stein said. “But I think we did good about communicating and our passing.”
As the second quarter started, Forcey Christian continued their consistent scoring with three more successful plays. Midway through the second quarter, starting shooting guard and sixth grade student Lily Demain scored a lay-up, putting JDS on the board and erupting the JDS fans into cheers. Soon after, the second quarter ended with Forcey Christian up 18-2.
Head coach Brett Kugler spoke with his team at half time, firing them up and explaining the change of pacing that needed to happen during the second half.
“I talked to them at halftime and said, ultimately, it’s irrelevant what happened last time, and it’s irrelevant what happened in the first half, all we could do is look ahead to the second half,” Kugler said.
The third quarter began with a clear change to the Lions’ playing style. During the third quarter, the Lions held the Falcons to one bucket, turning up their defensive aggression. JDS scored four times during this quarter and stole the ball twice. The quarter ended on a buzzer beater layup from starting center and eighth grade student Reina Rothman.
Eighth grade student and starting point guard Selina Bricker recognized that the JDS players needed to change a few things at half-time in order to increase their chances of winning the game. Bricker understood this during the game and was able to use it as motivation.
“I think the first half was kind of rough,” Bricker said. “But then we had a good attitude change, and then [we] were able to catch up a little bit.”
The third quarter concluded with a total score of 20-10, the Falcons leading. As the final quarter began, the players were fired up, and ready to give Forcey Christian School a run for their money, with JDS fans cheering them on.
Despite their energy, the beginning of the quarter remained slow with the Lions only managing to score twice. The Falcons solidified their lead with five steals and scored three more times, ending the game in Forcey Christian’s favor, 26-14.
The middle school girls basketball team continued to display their skill in this game with the Forcey Christian school. The players plan to put in even more work as the season progresses.
“I think that we’re going to continue to work on our offense and getting open and our inbounds plays,” Bricker said.
