By: Morgan Blechschmid, Jonathan Drake, and Lexi Jenkins
February 25, 2020
This past Tuesday evening, the Brooklyn Hurricanes 8th grade girls basketball team faced off against Cuyahoga Heights.
The first quarter started off with Desiree Gailes making the first basket of the night, which was not her only field goal as she contributed multiple times throughout the quarter and the game. The Redskins even the score out to conclude the quarter with an 8-8 tie.
The second quarter began with Gailes making a three-pointer, quickly followed by Ashlyn Dyson making another three-pointer a few minutes later. Gailes led the second quarter with great defense and offense. Similar to the first quarter, the tempo went back and forth, and as the time expired, both teams were knotted at 16-16.
When asked what she told her players during halftime, coach Kristen Field said, “I told them that we needed to come out and play with the same intensity in the second half that we did in the first. This has been a problem for us throughout the year. We play a really good first half of basketball and then we don’t come out with that same fire, that same energy in the second half.”
The third quarter was foul-ridden, and the Redskins converted on most of their free throws. Despite great defense and unfortunate and untimely fouls, the girls struggled offensively to which the Redskins took a 23-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter carried on very similarly to the third. After a timeout was called, the girls returned to the court looking more motivated and ready to finish the game strong. There were many fouls called on the Redskins, leading to points by the Hurricanes. However, the Redskins managed more baskets and ultimately won the game 35-23.
When asked what she believed the ups and downs of the game were, Coach Field said, “The first half, we played really well; our press looked good, and we had good offense. Ashlyn and Desiree knocked down some good threes that helped us out. But again in the second half, we need better rebounding. We have to do a better job rebounding. We did a really nice job with our press defense, and we were able to force them to take shots they weren’t comfortable with, but then, unfortunately, we gave up two or three shots per possession.”
The 8th grade girls next game is today at Cuyahoga Heights, and they hope that today’s rematch flips the script with a road victory.
Good luck, girls!
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 