JV Stratford 34 vs. Fort Bend Bush Broncos 13

The Spartans were back in action Friday, December 6th at home after a little time off. They were ready to get back in the saddle, tame a few Broncos, and ride off into the victorious sunset.

The game started slowly as FB Bush came out in a two-three zone that Sparty hadn’t seen in a while. The plan was to go over the top and work the post to Brooke Sponsel and Stella Weiss. Things were very clogged up underneath, but Brooke was able to get two baskets. As the Broncos focused their attention down low, the mid-range opened up a bit for the Spartans. Allie Moss made them pay with a short jumper off a nice pass from Aniyah Cunningham. Claire Kadane then got the crowd to their feet with a high-arching three-pointer. The Spartan defense was nasty as usual as Zoe Thompson came in and took a steal to the house for a lay-in to close out the first quarter. Sparty 11, Bush 3.

The second was more of the same, but the girls started to move the ball a little better and wore the Broncos out a bit. Abigail Williams came in and not only grabbed multiple rebounds on her way to 8 on the night, but she also scored a basket off a nice pass from Brooke. Abigail returned the favor to Stella as she was able to score off a good pass. The girls all played great defense, only allowing one basket for the quarter. Resse Opperman had a few nice plays that stood out on the defensive end. Claire continued to be an offensive force, scoring two more baskets as well. At the end of the half, Spartans were up 19-5.

I know you’ve heard this before, but the second half, particularly the third quarter, is when the Spartans take over a game. Defense was stifling as Madison Williams and Elyse Johnson came in and helped continue to stop any plans the Broncos had offensively, highlighted by Elyse taking a charge to shut down one of the few scoring opportunities for Bush. Allie hit a running layup and followed her own shot off a miss for a nice put-back to get two scores. Claire continued to score on her way to a game high 11 by adding two more baskets, one going coast-to-coast off a steal. Zoe and Aniyah helped corral the Broncos. Zoe also hit a beautiful three-pointer. Zoe then dropped a solid pass to Resse on the move, and she paid it off with a layup. Madison worked underneath to get a basket to add to the scoring. When the dust had settled, the Spartans put the horses back in the barn and walked away with another victory.

JV Stratford 30 vs. Cy Creek Cougars 32

The Spartans hit the road for their first District game to visit the Cy Creek Cougars. Neither team got more than 6 points away from each other in a game that would come down to the wire.

Cy Creek came out very aggressively, and the girls hadn’t seen this kind of pressure in a while. They handled it well, and Stella Weiss went to work, getting three contested baskets. When our girls tried to answer the intensity, the refs saw it a different way and started to load us up with fouls. Most notablely, what appeared to be one-sided calls got both Aniyah Cunningham and Claire Kadane in foul trouble within two to three minutes of playing time. Zoe Thompson came in and was able to steal one and get to the rack. Abigail Williams took an inbound from Allie Moss and scored as well. The Cougars were in the bonus for most of the quarter and were able to covert at the line to keep things close. Sparty weathered the storm and fought to a 10-8 lead after one.

The second quarter was more of the same, but the game got a flow to it, and the girls were allowed to play basketball. Brooke Sponsel went to work using her speed to get to the basket for 6 points. She was much faster than the other team’s post players and she made it pay off. Claire and Zoe both played great defense, and both were able to score off steals. Allie and Reese Oppermann helped to try and slow down, but the Cougars were a good team and were able to continue to keep pace with the Spartans. Abigail played post and guard, and her hustle and pestering defense got her another score in the paint off a nice rebound back and forth with Brooke. At half, Spartans were up 22-20.

The third was not Stratford’s night to run away with the game as usual. It was unfortunately the time the Cougars would grab control of the game and take their first lead of the night. As in the first quarter, the whistles started to rain down upon us again. It became difficult for the Spartans to play defense without a call being made. At least this time around, Claire was able to get some calls on drives, get herself to the line, and was able to drop in three free throws. Stella was also able to make it to the line to get one. Scoring wasn’t easy to come as the game got mired down with whistles. Cy Creek benefited from some calls and got a few clean baskets as well as 4 free throws. The Spartans were down by four with less than ten seconds left in the half. Allie took the inbound and drove it right past the entire defense for a much-needed lay-in to get it to 30-28 Cy Creek after three.

The fourth was an absolute mess of a quarter. Both teams combined for a whopping four points. Our points came from a solid hard-working rebound put-back by Abigail. Cy Creek went into stall mode, and it paid off for them. The most solid part of our game all night was apparently fouling. Then when we needed a call, we couldn’t seem to get a foul. The girls played so hard and got a late turnover, but there just wasn’t enough time to get that last tying shot. Great work for Stratford on a challenging night, but we were just short 30-32.