Stratford vs. Memorial:

Memorial has been a pain for the Stratford Varsity Girls Basketball Team for a long while. On Saturday, the two met at Don Coleman Coliseum. Playoff seeding and eligibility were big factors. The Spartans felt they could win. Spartans' fans did as well. There is a lot of individual talent on this team. They have yet to really put it all together this season. But on their first defensive series, the opponent got four shots at the basket after getting three offensive rebounds. That seemed to encapsulate the rest of the contest. The best three-point shooting women's college basketball team in the country is #1-ranked, undefeated South Carolina. The Gamecocks average 41.7% per game behind the arc. On Saturday, the Mustangs made 14 of 30 threes at a 46.7% clip.

The Spartans' offense had trouble finding rhythm with the opponent playing the passing lanes. Junior point guard Rachel Ashby scored a three from the left wing for the team's first points and the score was 3-5. The Spartans' best outside shooters were not finding open looks and the interior was clogged when the ball went down low. The Spartans had shots blocked, passes picked off.  and missed some short jumpers. It was 4-19 to end the quarter.

Ashby got a steal and hit Freshman guard Tess Stephenson, who let loose a long-distance three and it was 7-19. The opponent responded with a three. The Spartans were in a zone defense and the opponent was finding open looks and converting at a ridiculous rate. Senior guard Emma Adisa knocked down a 10-foot jumper after a long pass from Ashby in transition. Stephenson converted another long three and it was 13-30. Ashby found Senior forward Kendall Zoboroski on the left wing for a bucket, and the half ended at 15-37.

Stephenson drained a couple of foul shots, and it was 17-40 in the third quarter. Adisa got a steal and converted a layup. The opponents continued to score. Ashby went coast-to-coast and scored, and the quarter ended 21-56.

The fourth quarter saw the offense start to spark. Zoboroski found Junior guard Aria Taylor for a trey. Adisa drove the lane and let fly a seven-footer to score. Stephenson swished another three. Taylor knocked down one herself. The final was 33-64. Stephenson finished with 11 points. Ashby had seven points and five rebounds. Taylor and Adisa each scored six points. Zoboroski had six rebounds. Junior forward Kendall Davis had five rebounds before taking an elbow to the mouth that required leaving in the third quarter for medical intervention. The Spartans (16-13, 7-6) play their final game of the regular season at home on Wednesday vs. Jersey Village. By one estimation, Stratford makes the playoffs if Memorial beats Cy Fair this week. If not, Stratford needs to beat Jersey Village by at least five points.

Stratford vs. Cy Fair

It was Senior Night on Wednesday, January 31st. A win would go a long way in creating separation between Stratford, sitting in the fourth and final postseason position, and the teams behind it. The tone felt like it was set almost immediately when Freshman guard Tess Stephenson went up strong for a defensive rebound and snatched it away from the opposition. Senior guard Emma Adisa scored first on a 12-foot jumper off an out-of-bounds play. Senior forward Zoboroski took a screen, drove to the basket, and was fouled. She made a free throw and it was 3-0. And then they stopped getting those defensive rebounds. The Rams got second-chance baskets. There was a lot of physicality. It was the kind that TV announcers describe as "letting them play." With 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Stephenson created her own shot with a step-back 10-foot jumper and it was 5-11. Junior guard Aria Taylor forced a turnover to stop the Rams from potentially scoring before the quarter ended.

Zoboroski forced a turnover under the Rams' basket and fed the ball to Taylor, who scored to make it 7-13. Zoboroski scored a nine-foot jumper from the left side off the assist from Ashby. Stephenson took the ball the length of the court and scored. Then Ashby hit Stephenson in the left corner for a three, and the game was tied 15-15 at the 2:26 mark. The Rams took a timeout. They then proceeded to score from the paint in three consecutive offensive series. Stephenson forced another turnover under the Rams' basket, shot, and was fouled. She converted both free throws and it was 17-21. Whether it was the tenseness of postseason aspirations, the late start to the game, or just the basketball gods were angry that night, the Spartans' shots were not falling. The word must be out that it is helpful to stop Ashby and Stephenson from scoring to beat the Spartans, because the Rams did an unfortunately excellent job of denying the two open looks. Either can heat up like a microwave and when it happens, the other team is often cooked. It was still 17-21 at the end of the second quarter.

Stephenson corralled another turnover. Ashby got the ball and kicked it to Zoboroski, who dropped in a trey from the left wing, and it was 20-21. Ashby stole the ball and scored. Stephenson stole the ball and scored! It was like being at the dullest party ever and suddenly Ren McCormick and preacher's daughter, Ariel Moore, shows up and everybody's dancing. The Rams looked tired. Ashby and Stephenson smelled blood and attacked the Rams' offense at half court. The duo forced steals three times in quick succession and yet the Spartans were unable to put points on the board. Junior forward Kendall Davis lobbed to Stephenson, and the Spartans finally made the scoreboard change to a 26-21 lead. Adisa drove the lane and dropped in an eight-footer. At the 2:32 mark, Junior forward Gretchen Loveless converted two free-throws and it was 30-23. Ashby stole the ball in the backcourt, and they stole it right back. The opponent was not folding. They converted a layup at the buzzer, and the third quarter ended at 31-28.

Ashby forced a turnover and found Zoboroski for a layup, and it was 33-30. Davis stole the ball. No score. Ashby got a steal. No score. Ashby got another steal. Nada. Stephenson followed suit. No points. Ashby once again stole the ball in the backcourt and got the assist to Loveless, and it was 35-30. At 4:04, the Rams stole the ball and scored to make it 35-34. It happened again at the 3:12 mark,  and it was 35-36. The Spartans' scoring drought was agonizing. At 1:57, Taylor drove to the basket and was fouled. She converted one free throw, and it was 36-38. At :55, Stephenson drove, was fouled, and made both from the line to tie at 38-38. At :35, Stephenson was fouled in the backcourt and would be going to the line for two free throws since the Rams were in the bonus. However, another official, who did not appear to have his arm up when the foul was signaled, overruled and said the Spartans had called timeout. The game soon went into overtime.

Four minutes were put on the clock. Davis scored when she inexplicably pivoted away from the basket after receiving the ball (she normally goes hard to the basket) and smoothly drained an 18-footer. Scoring was still hard to come by. At 1:16, Taylor tossed in a nine-footer and it was 42-40. The Rams tied it. They took the lead with eight seconds remaining. The Spartans at the last second got the ball into Stephenson's hands. She has drained shots at the buzzer. But not tonight. Final was 42-44, Rams. Stephenson led with 15 points, six rebounds, and five steals. Zoboroski had eight points and eight rebounds. Taylor had six points. Ashby had three points, four rebounds, four assists, and nine steals. Davis had two points and six rebounds.