5th grade sluggish in win

The 5th grade girls completed a perfect regular season Saturday afternoon, with a very sloppy 20-4 win.

For a team that has made major strides within the last month, their latest game was a step back.

Kaela did have 10 points, but forced up too many shots when a lot of her teammates were open by the basket.

The girls did get plenty of shots by the basket but continued to miss. The margin of victory could've been a lot wider had they made even a quarter of their shots.

Lily was able to get her hands on some offensive rebounds but struggled shooting from the field and finished the game with just 2 points.

Same goes for Ivy who had three wide open looks by the basket. She finally converted on her fourth try.

Cecilia scored the first 2 points of the game, which usually sets the tempo for a game where the team as a whole contributes to the victory. But a good portion of the game felt very similar to the games earlier in the year when the team relied way too much on Kaela.

In turn, Kaela gets into a habit of trying too much to do everything herself instead of trusting her teammates.

Nonetheless, the girls are undefeated and the number one seed in their division going into the playoffs.

The good news is that they have beaten every team and are capable of doing so again. The bad news is now they have a target on their back, and they'll need a lot better effort and execution than today if they want to make history and make a post-season run.

One of the few bright spots in the game was Becky, who really made a contribution on the glass. The rookie forward got to tough areas of the court and was able to grab the rebounds when the team needed it, especially in the 4th quarter.

Even though she didn't score, she was an asset to the team simply because she brought some energy onto the court, when a lot of her teammates looked a step slow.

With the win, the girls finish the season (8-0), a pretty remarkable accomplishment with a team of four rookies. Of the seven girls, only two played with St. Mary's last season, so the team chemistry started from scratch.

A lot of their success or failure will really depend on whether the team as a whole has a good game. Kaela cannot be relied to carry the team, because other teams will prepare against that.

Kaela is going to need to be able to score when she needs to, and differ when she needs to.

Everyone on the team this season has scored and has shown that they can be key contributors to the game. It's going to take a team effort like their win last week for the girls win in the playoffs.

Michaela added 4 points in the win.