RBHS varsity girls’ basketball defeated the Spartans 63-28 Dec. 9 in their first home game of the season, boosting their team record to 3-4.
The game began with junior guard Ann Volmert, senior guard/forward Cora Smith, senior guard/forward Tayte Higgins, sophomore guard Hayden Fick and junior forward Simone Walker on the court for the Bruins. The quarter commenced as a slow start with both teams playing a strong defense and no points being scored. This back and forth on the court continued until Fick scored the first two points of the game with a layup. Following these plays, Bruins continued with their streak and made another four points via layups by Higgins and Cora Smith, making the score 6-0. The quarter progressed and with many baskets scored by Cora Smith and Walker, including a three-pointer scored by Cora Smith, the alarm buzzed and the teams finished the first quarter with a score of 17 for Bruins and nine for Spartans.
Cora Smith looks back at the season so far, highlighting that recently, the team competed in a tournament where they played against some of the best girls’ basketball teams in the state.
“We had a tournament this weekend where we played three games,” Cora Smith said. “We are actually two and four. We’ve won two and lost four [games overall]. We played three teams that are […] top 10 in the state, and they were close games.”
Quarter two also set off with Bruin players Fick, Cora Smith, Higgins, Volmert and Walker on the court. The start was strong with Walker scoring the Bruins the first two points of the quarter with a layup, putting the score at 19-9. Despite this promising start, the Spartans proceeded to make the next three points of the quarter, putting the score at 19-12 before a substitution of players for the Bruins. Players on the court were junior guard Brooklyn Reichard, Volmert, Higgins, Cora Smith and sophomore forward Cate Smith. After some powerful offensive moves by the Bruins and many baskets made by Cate Smith, Reichard and Higgins, this quarter ended with a score of 34-17. Cora Smith said the preparations to prepare for strong play like this is strenuous.
“We pretty much practice year round, so we’ll do pre-season in the fall, and then we also have summer workouts at 6 a.m. […] all of June,” Cora Smith said. “We have a very tough schedule, we play a lot of hard games, but I think that really pays off at the end of the year especially when we’re playing against conference opponents.”
With 40 seconds left until the third quarter, the Bruins huddled together to discuss plans for the game and to empower the team. This quarter began with Cora Smith, Higgins, Volmert, Walker and Fick. Cora Smith makes the first point of the quarter via making the 2nd shot of a free throw, putting the Bruins as the first team to score a basket in the beginning of the quarter once again. With some strong plays by Higgins, Volmert and Walker, the Bruins rounded up nine more points for the team, putting the score at 44-19. The teams dispersed and the court was reset, with Cora Smith, Reichard, Fick, junior forward/center Washirl Kyne and Volmert on. After many fouls by the Bruins disrupting the consistency of scoring points gradually, the court was reset once again with Bruin replacements being Higgins, Cate Smith, Reichard, Kyne and Fick. Having not scored in a bit, Fick scored Bruins two points, the first score in a while for the team, putting the scoreboard at 44-24. After some strong gameplay from both teams, the quarter ended with a score of 50-26 with the last six points of the quarter being scored by Reichard and Walker. Cora Smith explains that the team’s defense is currently undergoing work but the offense remains strong.
“We’ve definitely been emphasizing our defense and giving up around 60 points a game,” Cora Smith said. “Our offense is honestly doing really well. We’ve been shooting the ball really well.”
Finally, the fourth quarter started, the last stretch of the game where the Bruins and Spartans will fight to either keep their score or up it. The Bruin court starts off with Volmert, Higgins, Fick, Walker and Cora Smith. The game initiated promisingly for the Bruins, with the team being the first again to score during the quarter due to Cora Smith’s free throw, getting the Bruins one point. Following this, Volmert scores the Bruins two more points, maintaining a strong start. Due to a dominating defense on both ends, teams struggle to score baskets for a while. Interupting this moment of back and forth between teams, Walker scores the Bruins two points making the score 55-26. Subsequently, with Volmert’s tough offensive skills three more points were scored for the Bruins, putting the team at 58 points on the board. Teams disperse and Bruins bring Reichard, Volmert, Cate Smith, Kyne and junior guard Jen Mbabazi onto the court for the last of the quarter. After the Bruins proceeded to score five more points for the team, the game ended with an exceptional score of 63-28. Cora Smith reminisces on her four years on varsity and provides insight for the rest of the players on the team regarding the remainder of the season.
“It has been a journey; I have learned a lot of lessons I would say and […] I’ve learned how to push myself, and good leadership skills,” Cora Smith said. “Just be prepared for the ups and downs because basketball season is really long. You just have to [remember] there will be a lot of highs.”
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