Girls’ Basketball Takes OT Thriller
Girls’ varsity basketball broke their losing streak with a 89-85 point victory in overtime against Cushing Academy. After a loss on Wednesday and this Saturday’s win, Big Red now stands with a solid record of 13-6.
The girls came into the game knowing that they were facing an opponent they could beat and hoped to capitalize on the situation.
“We knew the competition was a little weaker than what we had been facing in past weeks so that gave us increased confidence. Plus, our starting lineup was healthier than in previous days. Losing three in a row is bad, but losing four is exponentially worse,” senior and captain Courtney Henrich said.
“I think that momentum got me going and helped me get a career high points and rebounds that game. I’m glad we could come out with a win in overtime too!”
When it came to game time, several performances were notably exceptional. “There were three players in this game who kept their team in the game. The first is #5 from Cushing, a 5’2” PG/SG who scored 50 points,” Henrich said. “I have never in my life seen that at the prep school level, it really is insane. Second, was Erika Steeves with 41 points including her 1000th high school point. The last, but not the least, was Mel Allan with increased minutes due to team foul trouble and a Steph Curry like floater late in OT to take the lead and clinch the W.”
Senior Erika Steeves became the second girl on the team to reach 1,000 points in her high school career along with Henrich. When asked about her accomplishments, Steeves said, “It’s definitely something I’m proud to have accomplished. I was at Hotchkiss for three years before coming here, but I was out with a concussion my first year there, so it basically took me three years and two schools to get to 1,000 points.”
Steves added that she was excited to accomplish the feat at Exeter, not only because of how much she enjoys being with the Exeter term, but also because of the supportive atmosphere of all the girls.
“I’m really happy it happened here with the group of girls we have, they’re all so supportive. Most of them actually didn’t know I got to 1,000 when I hit a three pointer a little before half time because I hadn’t really told anyone except for my coach. But as soon as my teammates found out they were all so happy for me, and it was an amazing feeling,” Steeves said. “I think that momentum got me going and helped me get a career high points and rebounds that game. I’m glad we could come out with a win in overtime too!”
On the surface the team stayed cool and collective, but throughout the game things got heated. “The refs fouled three girls out of the game (one being Peace and one being me. Actually, nearly five were fouled out considering the fact that at least two other girls had four fouls at the end of the game). These calls made it tough for us to play our best defense, especially when the other team was driving,” prep Ella Johnson said.
With the victory against Cushing, the team looked forward to their game against Andover on Saturday and hopes to see a good turnout. Henrich asked fans to “support both teams, [Hockey and Basketball] but [to] remember, 4:15, Love Gym, let’s get rowdy!” and promised an intense buzzer beater and a closer more interesting game than boys’ hockey.