vs. Spring Woods

The Tigers did not contest the tip, and that was the only instance in which the Spartans got a freebie. Junior forward Kendall Davis set a screen for Junior point guard Rachel Ashby, then rolled to the basket. Ashby hit Davis high and Davis came down too far under the basket. She smartly righted herself into scoring position and laid in the first points. The Tigers responded with a three-pointer that just didn't look like it could be executed. The Spartans would discover how wrong that assessment could be. Ashby got a steal on defense and led the charge downcourt, finding Freshman guard Tess Stephenson with a bounce pass and bucket. Back on offense,  Stephenson drove down the lane and went to her left hand (she's right-handed) to put the Spartans up 7-3. When Ashby found Stephenson darting to the basket and got the assist, the score was 11-8, and the game had swung with wildly inconsistent officiating. Before the quarter ended, Stephenson hit Ashby off the out-of-bounds play for a trey, and it was 15-10.

The Tigers nailed a three to start the second quarter. Junior forward Bella Perroni set a screen to open up Senior guard Emma Adisa for a 15-foot jumper. The Spartans missed some shots and gave up some rebounds, and it was 17-17. Stephenson dropped in a short jumper. Shortly after, Adisa hit Stephenson behind the arc. Stephenson took one dribble, a step back, and made some string music to go up 22-17. Ashby made a layup and received a clear blow to the body. No whistle. Mental miscues ensued. Stephenson drove under the basket and executed a reverse layup. Junior guard Aria Taylor dished to Stephenson, who took it from the right wing to the left for a layup. No Tiger could effectively stop her. Taylor snagged an offensive rebound and put it back to go up 30-22. The Tigers nailed a long three, and the half ended 30-25.

Early in the third quarter, Ashby led a fast break, feeding Senior forward Kendall Zoboroski for a layup and it was 34-26. Ashby drove left and hit Stephenson down low on the right. Stephenson made the shot and the ensuing free throw after being fouled. The Spartans were up 37-26. The Tigers' coach called timeout. The opponents came out and hit a three. They scored down low and it was 37-31. Taylor controlled the ball at the top of the key and drove to the bucket and scored. Adisa got an offensive rebound and went back up, getting fouled on the shot. She made both free throws. The Tigers made another three. Stephenson was fouled and made both from the charity stripe to go up 44-36. The Spartans were getting beat up while being called for fouls where the principle of verticality was ignored. The principal is that a player is entitled to her space that is occupied, plus all vertical space above her. Therefore, if a defender has her arms straight above her head, and the offensive player with the ball jumps up and there is contact with the defender's arms, it is not considered a defensive foul. "Au contraire," said the officials. Davis fouled out in the fourth quarter after at least two such instances. Ashby responded with what may have been the play of the game. She interrupted a Tiger fast break with a massive steal and raced down the court for a layup right before the horn sounded. The Spartans were up 46-38.

Stephenson started the fourth with an offensive rebound and put-back. Taylor drove and scored after the hand-off from Ashby. At around the 5:10 mark, Stephenson hit Adisa in the right corner, who drained a three to make it 53-38. The Tigers had only scored two points in the last three-to-four minutes of play. Then they bombed in a three. Taylor passed to Davis in the left corner. Davis aggressively challenged the defense and scored on the right side whilst being fouled. When she drained a plus-one, it finally felt like the outcome was inevitable. The Spartans' defense held. The clock ran. When Ashby found herself with a bigger, slower defender after a switch, she raced down the lane to score. The final was 59-45.

Stephenson finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. Ashby had nine points, seven assists, five steals, and five rebounds. Adisa had seven points and five rebounds. Taylor had six points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward Gretchen Loveless had six rebounds and made some key plays to keep the ball alive for the Spartans, especially in the first quarter. The Spartans (16-11, 7-4) are in fourth place in the District, just behind Jersey Village...The Spartans play Cy Ridge (13-16, 4-7) on Wednesday at 6:30 pm in a home game.

vs. Northbrook

On Wednesday, January 24, Northbrook came a-calling. The Raiders have grit and heart. They do not have a bench, nor size, nor the skill of this year's Spartans. The Kendall & Kendall Show was the opening act, with Senior forward Kendall Zoboroski scoring an 18-footer off the assist from Junior forward Kendall Davis. Davis got her own assist, finding Freshman guard Tess Stephenson down low. Junior guard Aria Taylor scored in the paint off the out-of-bounds play from Stephenson. Junior forward Gretchen Loveless scored on a fast break. Junior point guard Rachel Ashby had a steal and pass to Taylor for a fast-break score. Stephenson stole an out-of-bounds play by the Raiders and scored. Taylor found Ashby for a three and it was 18-0 to end the quarter.

At this point, Spartan fans are starting to almost will Raiders' shots to go in. Junior guard Ella O'Connor scored a 12-footer off the pass from Zoboroski. Zoboroski scored again off an offensive rebound. O'Connor had an offensive rebound and scored. The halftime score was 30-1.

In the third quarter, Ashby gained control of the ball in the backcourt and saw Zoboroski race ahead of the defense. Ashby found her for the layup. The Raiders blessedly made a basket. Zoboroski scored again on a fast break off the pass from Senior guard Emma Adisa. Ashby surveyed the scene and zig-zagged down the lane, almost like a waltz, to score on the layup. O'Connor hit Loveless down low. The Raiders made some buckets. Loveless scored on the block off the assist from Stephenson, and it was 40-10 at the horn.

Davis stole a pass and hit Senior forward Ella Pezzia on the fast break for a score. Taylor scored after driving along the baseline. The Spartans got sloppy, perhaps out of compassion. The clock was mercifully allowed to run. Pezzia snared an offensive rebound and converted. The final was 46-12.

Zoboroski led with seven points and five rebounds. Ashby had six points, six rebounds, and four steals. Taylor, Loveless, and Stephenson each had six points. Pezzia had four points and five rebounds.