The girls’ basketball team’s four-game win streak came to a halt at the hands of the Wildcats’ rivals, the B-CC Barons on Tuesday, Jan. 24. With just under a month left in the regular season, the Wildcats currently have a winning record at 8-6. While the 69-50 loss was a setback, the team believes that this game was a bad beat and that they will be able to get back on track quickly.
“It was definitely not about skill, it was about execution. We knew how to do everything going in, it’s just that going from our heads to actual performance, we didn’t follow through and if we had, it would have been an easy blowout. That happened last game as well and we are trying to work on it,” junior guard Rheem Tungcod said.
One of the highlights during the win streak was how well the defense was playing. Teams playing the Wildcats averaged under 23 points per game. Offensively the Wildcats were in a rhythm averaging 62.5 points per game during the win streak.
“I honestly think we were just playing very well. We had great passes, great communication and our energy levels were so good and I think that pushed us forward to win those four games,” senior forward Yasmin Gorham said.
In the games against Paint Brach (Jan. 20) and B-CC, sophomore guard Kendall Alexander was unstoppable scoring 33 points over the two games. Freshman guard Norah Youssef had one of her best games so far dropping 15 points against Paint Branch.
The biggest thing for performance on offense is not forcing anything and letting the points or letting the baskets come to you. I learned definitely over a few games that you can’t just put the ball in the basket, you have to see it, you have to know that it’s there and really just let it come to you.
— Norah Youssef
Turnovers in the first quarter have plagued the Wildcats as of late causing them to get behind in games early on. Working towards being more efficient every possession is something the Wildcats’ have been working on all season and will likely be a key factor down the late stretch of the season.
“Protect the basketball, rebound and communication. Those were the three things that we have said we needed to do every single game since the season started and that’s what we need to work on going into these playoff games and the rest of the season,” Tungcod said.
The Wildcats’ next game is Friday, Jan. 27 at Northwest at 7:15 p.m. The Wildcats are confident that they will be able to have a strong performance in this game.
“We are going to completely blow out that team because we are mad after that B-CC game. We just had a whole entire conversation [after the game] and we are ready to come back at them and at RM (Feb. 10),” Tungcod said.
