This rematch was not a low scoring affair like last year's teeth pulling extravaganza where the 7th graders prevailed 8-3. But the girls would've taken that over another game decided by a bucket.
Playing without Kelly, who handles a lot of the point guard duties, the girls were forced to play with only six players.
And with only one sub, the girls didn't get a chance to do much resting.
Once again, their biggest problem, scoring points factored into the loss Saturday.
They get a lot of good looks at the basket but they just can't seem to convert. It was against this same team last year in the regular season when they scored a putrid one point in a 6-1 loss.
Sooner or later, the girls are going to have to win the close games, or else they will end up kicking themselves like they have done so all season long.
You can make a strong argument that they shouldn't have lost a single game in the tournament, and should also be undefeated in the regular season.
But reality is they are sitting at a disappointing (2-2) record midway through the season, when one made shot here, and a defensive stop there could shift their losses into the win column.
One thing they haven't done well is practice as a team, as the girls have not had consistent practices with all seven girls on the team. For a plethora of reasons, having all girls present at a practice has been a continuous challenge and when both of the team's losses have been one bucket, the lack of team chemistry is magnified.
The 7th grade was down five in the final quarter, but came back resiliently as Fiona tied the game on a made shot.
But they could not muster any type of offense in the extra frame.
In overtime, Ivanna fouled out, which was a huge blow to the girls as she is the team's lone inside presence.
And right on cue, the other team took advantage of her absence, lobbing a pass to a girl by the basket, who hit the game winner. Two of the St. Mary's girls were completely out of position.
In overtime, Ivanna fouled out, which was a huge blow to the girls as she is the team's lone inside presence.
And right on cue, the other team took advantage of her absence, lobbing a pass to a girl by the basket, who hit the game winner. Two of the St. Mary's girls were completely out of position.
Like all teams, they battle consistency. A lot of their players will look like gold one week, and then take several steps back the next.
In a higher division, some girls are still having trouble taking care of the ball.
Late in the game, Leslie was forced to burn a timeout in fear of a jump ball being called. It was her final regulation timeout.
Now it gets even harder for the girls as the margin of error becomes thinner and thinner with each loss. They could've put two w's in the bank, but let both of them slip through their fingertips.
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