vs. Jersey Village

On Wednesday, our JV Lady Spartans hosted the Jersey Village Falcons for the final game of the season. The first quarter had some beautiful passing combinations combined with staunch defense. In the previous matchup, the Falcons were able to swing the ball around and take advantage of some uncontested shots. The JV Lady Spartans were ready for the Falcons' passing and quickly closed out all of the looks at the basket. The scoring opened up with Riley O’Connor drawing in the defense at the top of the arc and then passing to Katherine Cronin at the wing. She found Camille Warren at the weakside block. After a pump fake, Camille passed the ball down the baseline to Emerson Berg, who shook free from her defender, for the catch and lay-in shot. There were even more assists throughout the quarter as Rylah Barnes found Camille on the right elbow with a pass. Rylah set the screen and Camille utilized it to get free for a layup. A few possessions later, Katherine found Camille in a similar spot. After faking to her right, Camille took the ball to the hoop with another layup. Caroline White seized the opportunity on a sideline inbound pass. She caught the Falcon defense sleeping and found Riley for a corner three-pointer. The strong defense combined with the passing allowed our JV Lady Spartans to build a 9 to 4 lead after the first period.

The passing continued in the second quarter. Riley and Camille worked a give-and-go at the wing, which led to Riley having an uncontested layup. Then, after breaking the press, Riley passed the ball to Rylah at the elbow. Rylah was cool and composed and found a cutting Sophia French for a layup. Later, Sophia was inbounding the ball on the endline and caught the Falcons sleeping again as she found Rylah for the catch and swish. Not all of the effort was on offense. Camille’s and Katherine’s blocks, combined with Emerson’s “high hands” kept the Falcons from scoring near the basket. The half ended in spectacular fashion. Kendall Parker fought for the defensive rebound and passed it to Camille. Camille sliced through the trap and curled to the weak side. She pitched the ball to Caroline. Caroline shot a deep three-pointer that first banked off the backboard and then swirled around the rim. After what seemed an eternity, the ball decided to fall through the hoop as the buzzer sounded. Our Lady JV Spartans led 18 to 15 at the half.

Coming out of the break, our opponent must have forgotten how to pass the ball. Riley had two quick steals that led to easy points. Right after the inbound play to begin the half, Riley stole the ball and found Camille for an easy layup. Riley’s aggressive defense continued with another steal immediately after. She found Emerson at the elbow, who made the connection to Katherine in the corner. Katherine squared up and released the shot while getting plowed into by the oncoming defender. The ball sank into the hoop. Katherine gathered herself and made the free throw to complete the four-point play. After successfully breaking the half-court trap, Riley passed to Camille, who then looped under the basket and forced the defense to collapse. She passed to Emerson, who allowed the defense to close-out but it was too late. Emerson found Riley back at the arc for a three-pointer. With their spirit broken, laziness set in on the Falcons. We had a baseline inbound and Sophia found Caroline at the arc. You would have thought that after Caroline hit the long three-pointer at the end of the half, that they would have guarded her. They did not, and Caroline made them pay with another three-pointer. Speaking of finishing strong, as the seconds faded away in the third quarter, Camille passed to Sophia French for a three-pointer to seal the fate of the Falcons. The score was 33 to 23 after the third quarter.

The fourth quarter began with the Falcons in a full-court press. But, it did not cause a problem as Caroline was cool-headed and passed the ball to Camille, thus alleviating the pressure. After catching the pass in a full sprint, Camille took it down the court and beat the defender for a layup. Camille returned the favor and freed up Caroline for a fast break that she finished for a layup. The rest of the quarter was a mixture of bleeding out the clock and being fouled.

Our Lady JV Spartans ended the season on a high note and came out on top 39 to 34.

Some of the stats of interest were the following:

• Riley O’Connor had 8 pts, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 10 steals.
• Camille Warren had 8 pts, 2 steals, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
• Caroline White had 8 pts, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Emerson Berg had 2 pts, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.
• Rylah Barnes had 2 pts, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Sophia French had 5 pts, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• Katherine Cronin had 4 pts, 2 assists, and 3 blocks.
• Jordan Lundy had 2 pts and 3 rebounds.
• Kendall Parker had 3 rebounds.
• Emily Covington had 2 rebounds.