Girls’ Basketball Forces Mistakes to Win

EXETER – The girls’ varsity basketball team dominated last Saturday with a 55-28 win over Thayer at home. Lower Peace Kabari led the way with 15 points, four assists and six steals with uppers Yvonne Dean-Bailey (13 points, five rebounds), Courtney Henrich (12 points, 4-6 3PT) and senior Nicole Heavirland (11 points, four assists) coming in strong. Big Red forced the Thayer Tigers to commit twenty-seven turnovers, of which fourteen were stolen. With Thayer unable to protect the ball, Big Red cruised past the Tigers.“Our team has devoted our practices lately to just getting our hands in the passing lane and it has paid off immensely,” Dean-Bailey said. “Courtney [Henrich] did a great job of doing this.”Henrich had three steals and forced an additional two turnovers. She gave credit to an aggressive mindset and motivation for her defensive performance. Henrich also acknowledged the teamwork, mental toughness and the team’s ability in the transition game as key factors to the team’s success on Saturday.With a win last Wednesday over St. Paul’s, Exeter’s win streak is now up to six games, following the team’s only loss against Noble and Greenough on January 8. Big Red has won every game since by at least sixteen points and have outscored their opponents 344-207 over the stretch.“We’re always looking to step it up whether we come home with a win or a loss,” lower Michaela Streep said. “Even if we had beaten Nobles earlier this season, we’d still be motivated to bring our game to the next level. That’s just our mentality.”Next Saturday, Big Red will host Andover (2-5) on Saturday with their win streak on the line. Despite the fact that Big Blue has lost four of their past five games, they will be no slouch of an opponent for Exeter. Eager to exact revenge on an Exeter squad that they have not beaten since two years ago, Andover could wreak havoc for the Big Red.“It’s a big game regardless of each team’s record. Any rivalry game is a clean slate. In my mind, we’re both 0-0 and it’s going to be a physical game on both ends,” Henrich said.“Nothing is a wrap,” Dean-Bailey said. “As soon as we think that we’re toast, we just need to keep playing like we’re the best team in the league.”