The girls battled the Wildcats last year for the state championship title, squeaking out a 46-42 win. Today’s game, however, almost seemed the opposite of last year’s game as the Bruins trounced the Wildcats, 64-32.
“We were all really pumped for the game,” senior Makenzie Skrabal said. “Last year they beat us at this same tournament, and we all knew that we wanted to prove something.”
The team last year was came back to defeat the Wildcats later in the season. Although Skrabal said there are changes to the dynamics and chemistry of the team because seniors leave, it doesn’t feel like much has changed. She says this year’s team team also gets along wel,l and they “love each other like sisters.”
The Wildcats, ranked second in the state, faltered early in the game when the Bruins had a 22-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The RBHS girls widened the lead in the second quarter, ending the first half 39-14. Not giving in to premature celebration, the Bruins played with more intensity, coming out big in the third quarter by gaining 20 points while upping their defense and allowing Blue Springs to squeeze by with six points. Blue Springs was able to make more ground in the fourth quarter, though.
“Blue Springs is a very good team all around, so they had great three point shooters and great ball handlers,” Skrabal said. “They didn’t really have many weaknesses so we really tried to take their strengths and make them weaknesses, knowing each player’s strengths and what we would have to do to stop them. We also have amazing height that we used to our advantage well.”
The Bruins have an average height of 5 feet 8 inches between the 13 players and use it well. While today’s win was another big step, Skrabal and the team know there is a long way to go and aspects they can improve on.
“There are always things we can work on. So I’m sure we’ll watch film on the game and figure out what else could make us better,” Skrabal said. “It’s only the beginning of the season so we still have a lot to strive for.”
By Daphne Yu
