Hard Loss For B-Ball
The girls’ varsity basketball team has started its busy schedule this season with a couple of tough match-ups. This past Saturday, the girls traveled to Marion, Massachusetts to play perennial power house Tabor Academy. Despite suffering a disappointing loss, the team possesses a lot of potential and hopes to rebound from their rocky start.
Last season, the Tabor Seawolves finished with a formidable 21-2 record and were finalists in the NEPSAC Class A tournament. Knowing this, Exeter anticipated that its game against Tabor would be the fiercest competition of the entire season. Nevertheless, the team went out on the court and tried their best. After several productive practices leading up to the game, the girls felt ready.
From the opening tipoff, Tabor seized control of the game. Establishing a significant lead early on, it never looked back. Unfortunately, Big Red was never able to close the margin and ended up losing the game. Although it was a disappointing loss, the girls played hard throughout the entire game.
Exeter’s biggest problem during the game was turning the ball over. While this may have been due to Tabor’s impressive defense, the Exeter girls still recognized that they will need to improve in that area of the game.
Upper and starter Michaella McCarthy explained, “We are learning to play cohesively together because it’s early in the season, but we could improve from more intelligent shot selection and dictating the pace of play, both of which will be improved as we get to know each other as people on and off the court.”
Many of McCarthy’s teammates felt a similar optimism and were confident that their team could get back on track.
The team showed its resilience after their loss to Tabor in its next game against Kimball Union Academy (KUA) on Monday. Even though the girls were playing on short rest, they were determined to prove themselves because the loss to Tabor was still fresh in their minds. KUA’s team was strong, but this time the Exeter team stayed with its opponent.
In a nail-biter of a game, Exeter ended up losing by two, with a final score of 45-47. According to Senior and team manager Charlotte Sununu, the team “has lots to be proud of, because even after the Tabor game they played really well on Monday.”
After its first three games of the season against some of its toughest opponents, Exeter stands at 0-3. Last season, the team had the same record for its first three games, but after losing is fourth, the team went on an eight game winning streak.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, senior Bella Edo said, “we plan to work hard, bring everything we have to every game, play our best, and have fun.” The girls will take this mentality into the remainder of their games this season and continue to hope for the best.
Exeter’s next game is away this Saturday against Ethel Walker. The girls will seek to turn their season around and pick up their first win. After Friday’s game, the girls go on winter break, but many of them are planning to maintain their training. The girls are determined to keep up their conditioning throughout the break and hit their stride early on in January.