JV Stratford 36 vs. Jersey Village Falcons 32

The JV Lady Spartans took an in-District visit to Jersey Village on Tuesday, December 17th. The game turned out to be one of the longest the Spartans have played, but in the end, we were able to clip the wings of our District foes.

Jersey Village came out with something to prove and went at a rapid pace. They have a couple of guards who can defend and move the ball well. Allie Moss got things going for the Spartans with a short jumper followed by another quickly after. Claire Kadane then drove to the basket to score as well. The defense held up anchored by Abigail Williams, Brooke Sponsel, and Stella Weiss. The post was full-contact area, and they handled it well. The rest of the quarter was a mess of calls and fouls that brought the game to a snail’s pace. A few Spartans were already in foul trouble, and Zoe Thompson and Reese Oppermann came to the rescue. Both played smart defense, with Zoe causing multiple turnovers, and Reese grabbing rebounds and getting to the line for a free throw. Jersey Village got a three and was in the bonus early. Luckily for the Spartans, they were only able to connect on one more basket and one of their free throws. After one, Sparty led 7-6.

In the second, the game started to move a bit. There were still a lot of whistles, but Zoe went to work and started stealing the ball from the opposing guards. Her speed and defense showed off, grabbing her two baskets and a free throw. Brooke was able to break loose a bit underneath and add a basket and a free throw. Stella got a bucket off a nice drive to the basket. Claire then stole the ball and went half the court for a nice layup. The Falcons weren’t budging and matched Stratford point for point including two threes. It was 19-17 Stratford at the half.

In the third quarter, the Spartans started to play more of their game. The first half was a lot of fast running and wayward passing, which is not what this team does well. What Sparty does well is play stingy defense and work the ball to the open player for clean looks at the basket. The defense held the Falcons to four points for the quarter. Abigail of note was a menace on the Falcons grabbing boards and seeming to be all over the place. Lots of whistles continued, but Stratford broke through the noise with a few nice plays. Claire got another steal, took it all the way for a layup, and added a free throw. Brooke banged away low and got another score. Allie was able to hit Zoe with a long-bomb pass to add to the Spartan lead. At the end of three, Stratford was up 26-21.

The fourth was a continuation of the refs' show of fairness to make sure everyone got a chance to have a travel or a foul called against them. Stratford got on a run and opened a bit of lead. Allie again threw a bomb, this time to Stella, who knocked it down. Zoe stayed aggressive and made a heck of a move underneath that turned into a pass off a Falcon for a basket. Allie followed up a shot to get another score as well. Claire decided to drive to the hole and draw out some calls against Jersey Village. It paid off, and she was able to get to the line and drain four free throws on her way to a game high 11. The Falcons did make a run and got four free throws but missed quite a few as well. It was a great, hard-fought win for the Spartans. The final score was Stratford 36 - Jersey Village 32.

JV Stratford 36 vs. Cy Fair Bobcats 29

The Spartans hit the road for the last game before Christmas break. They had one more final exam to complete by showing the Bobcats of Cy Fair all they have learned this far.

Cy Fair had some real size and skill, and Stratford was going to have to play well to get his win. The first quarter was kind of a feeling-out process for both teams. Sparty worked hard to get the ball to the post, but Cy Fair made life difficult to get anything going. Stella Weiss was able to get a basket through plenty of traffic. Claire Kadane, Allie Moss, and Zoe Thompson limited what the Bobcat guards could do, creating quite a few disruptions and steals. Brooke Sponsel did a good job of neutralizing the Cats' best post player. Claire got a shot to go, and then Zoe broke things loose by capitalizing on steals and speed to get two more scores and a free throw. At the end of the first, Stratford was up 9-6.

The second quarter was more of the same type of game. Zoe stayed hot, knocking down a three-pointer and getting to the line for another. Stella got another with a nice move in the paint. Brooke made a beautiful post move and got a score. Allie got one down after a nice steal. The defense held up nicely with help from Reese Oppermann and Madison Williams. Madison also got a nice lay-in off a good pass from Zoe. At halftime, the Spartans were up 21-14.

The third quarter is where things got interesting. It looked like Sparty would settle in and create some distance to close the game out. Stella got things going with another move in the paint that created a basket. Then the Cats went on a big run. They were able to hit three 3-pointers and get the game too close for comfort. That’s when Zoe put on her superhero cape and took over the game. She made three quick steals and drove for three lay-ins on the other end. The momentum for Cy Fair was over, and the third closed out 36-29, Sparty.

In the fourth quarter Stratford learned a valuable lesson about time when you are leading. They did a good job of slowing things down as the clock started to run out. Zoe got one more bucket to finish the night with a game high of 17. Allie got to the line for two free throws. Allie later made a nice save on a ball going out of bounds that Claire grabbed and put in. Claire also added a free throw to close out scoring. In the last two minutes Sparty played keep-away, and the girls sent us all home with a nice present under the tree in the shape of another win. Stratford 36 - Cy Fair 29

JV Stratford 31 vs. Spring Dekaney Wildcats 19

The first of back-to-back games would take place Friday, December 27th at home against the Spring Dekaney Wildcats. This would be another in the long line of feline team names the Spartans would play this year. Just another chance for Sparty to prove they aren’t cat people, I guess!

In the first quarter, Allie Moss came out hot and hit two quick jumpers to get things going for Stratford. Not surprisingly, the Spartans' defense didn’t allow Spring to do much of anything. All the girls chipped in, including Brooke Sponsel, Abigail Williams, and Stella Weiss in the paint. Zoe Thompson, Claire Kadane, Aniyah Cuningham, and Allie took care of the Wildcat guards. What was surprising is that the Spartans didn’t score. The Wildcats packed in the paint with two big post players and a tight zone up top. Sparty didn’t get anything until Stella was able to get to the line for a free throw. At the end of one, Stratford was up 5-3.

In the second quarter, the defense was just as unwelcoming to the Cats only allowing one score. Zoe was able to get a couple of steals and drive for two scores. Allie got another shot to go down. Stella also grabbed a nice rebound and a put-back for a bucket. Abigail, Resse Oppermann, Madison Williams, and Elyse Johnson took their turns frustrating Dekaney and controlling the post area. At halftime, Sparty was up 13-5.

In the second half, Stratford pulled away. The girls moved the ball around well and got open looks for one another. Zoe took control of the game by scoring six field goals, including a great pass from Brooke. Zoe added two free throws for good measure to finish with 18 points. I am sure the Wildcats used up at least two of their nine lives trying to get away from the defense of the Spartans, highlighted by Abigail, Aniyah, and Allie causing turnovers galore for Dekaney. Stella got a nice drive for a basket, and Allie dropped in one more off a rebound put-back. The defense gave up a quick flurry of baskets in the fourth, but it didn’t make a difference as the game was well in hand. Stratford 31 - Spring Dekaney 19

JV Stratford 40 vs. Galena Park Yellow Jackets 9

The second of the holiday games would be a road trip to Galena Park. On a stormy day it would be the Yellow Jackets who got stung as Sparty made themselves at home.

The game started out bumpy for Stratford as the Jackets came out with a high trap at half court. The guards hadn’t seen this before and it caused a few quick turnovers off errant passes. Things settled down as Aniyah Cunningham and Zoe Thompson used their speed to break through and cause Galena Park to give up the original plan. Zoe scored twice and added a free throw. Allie Moss hit a nice jumper. Stella Weiss got the line for one as she drove hard to the basket. To say Abigail Williams plays at high intensity would be an understatement. She played great defense and got to the line draining two free throws. Brooke Sponsel, who did a lot of hard work in the post, was paid off by a nice assist from Zoe for a bucket. Zoe dropped another dime on Reese Oppermann, who paid it off with a lay-in. All the girls played well as Madison Williams and Elyse Johnson grabbed multiple rebounds and played great defense. At the end of one, the Spartans were up 14-3.

The second was more of the same, and the girls really started to pass the ball around and the assists and points started piling up. Aniyah, Brooke, and Stella also decided to throw a block party, and the Galena Park players were all invited. Solid defense allowed no points for the quarter. Zoe scored again on layup. Allie got a steal and went coast-to-coast, and then Zoe assisted Allie on another basket as she was falling out of bounds. Stella dove the lane, scored, and got the free throw for the and-one. Stella scored again off an assist from Allie. Abigail’s hard work paid off and got a basket as well. Reese and Allie got to the line to add free throws. At half, the game was well in hand 29-3, Spartans.

In the second half, Coach Hornbeak started platooning the girls in and out, working on set plays, and moving around without the ball. Of note, Madison and Elyse grabbed multiple rebounds and continued with the tight defense. Aniyah didn’t get on the board scoring, but her defense and intensity are always extremely disruptive for the opponents. Resse scored again and played very well down in the post. Stella grabbed a pile of rebounds, continuing her great play. Abigail continued to get rebounds and ran down two fast breaks to save points. Brooke, who worked hard all day, scored twice more and dropped in a free throw. Allie threw a nice head fake and got another basket; she added one more score later for a game high 11. All and all a very well-rounded game and a nice win for Stratford, 40-9.