Another tough loss

The title may be a little misleading, because the way I see it there are no "easy" losses. I view this one as tough in light of having a real opportunity to compete and win, and falling short. You probably know by now that not having some players I was counting on in the preseason as well as some injuries have left us a little depleted. The girls have battled hard and given every ounce of effort in the games since losing Ellie and Sara, but effort and hard work are not enough.

We played a physical and aggressive Silver Lake team that always proves to be a good challenge. I honestly can't remember the last time we lost to them, but at the same time, only remember one comfortable win. We started slowly again, offensively and defensively, and could never recover. We trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, cut it to 7, but ended up trailing 27-16 at the break.

The second half started with a little more promise, but we hit a dry spell where the lead was pushed deep into double digits again. We were able to cut it to 6 with about four minutes remaining, but our starters were out of gas and unable to make needed shots down the stretch and we lost 59-46.

Kate led us in scoring again with 19, but we probably need to get her driving and dishing to get more girls involved in the offense. At the same time, she's doing what competitors do when faced with adversity, and trying to carry the team. Rebecca had a great game for us, and I'm looking for better and better things from her as the season progresses. She scored 14 and grabbed 16 rebounds while dishing 4 assists. These two freshman are a wonderful foundation to some good days ahead for the Lady Pioneers. Brooke struggled finding her shot, scoring 7, but had 5 assists to help the team. Overall we out-rebounded an opponent for the first time this year (36-33), but the shooting percentages have got to increase for us to have success. Our struggle at the FT line are also hindering us from being successful.

Again, when you realize that of the 9 healthy players we have on the roster, only 2 played last year, we're still in the "hello my name is" stage on the court at times. Repetition, court time, and trust will continue to weave this group into a team. I already love this group and their character. Having a great time teaching.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trust.