On Dec. 2, the girls varsity basketball team lost against Hillsdale in a competitive match.
Senior Brighton Hadley, a forward and guard on varsity pointed out that Woodside had not been as strong on defense as they were on offense.
“We started the game a little slow,” Hadley said. “We needed more communication.”
Along with the lack of communication, Hadley thought the defense was not getting enough rebounds, which made it hard to score points offensively. Hadley remarked that Hillsdale is also a solid competitor.
“Hillsdale has been a really strong team,” Hadley said. “I think this year they’re one of the top teams in their league.”
Hadley added that the coaches knew they would be a hard team to beat, so they spent most of their practices pre-game reviewing press-breaking.
“They’re faster than we normally play,” Hadley said. “Offensively and defensively, we had to adjust to they’re pace because it tires us out quickly.”
Sophomore point guard Sofi Perrez added that while Woodside was trying to find ways to adjust to Hillsdale’s pace, it was hard to dismantle their defense.
“We tried this play called ‘Diamond’ that tried to break their press,” Perez said. “However, it only worked sometimes.”
Since Woodside found it tough to get by Hillsdale’s sturdy defense, they ended the first half down by four points. However, Hadley believes the team brought more energy and determination to the third quarter.
“At the beginning of the second half, we really came out there trying to prove the point that we weren’t out of the game yet,” Hadley said.
While the second half was tough for Woodside, Hadley added that there were some standout players, such as senior Farah Caldwell who was able to draw a number of fouls by the other team.
“She got to shoot a bunch of free throws and played great,” Hadley said. “It was just an awesome job.”
Though Woodside brought more drive to the second half, it wasn’t enough to win the game as they came up short by 12 points, losing with a final score of 27-39.
“We are definitely going to practice rebounding for our upcoming games after the struggle against Hillsdale,” Hadley said.
Following the teams first loss of the season, coaches have been working on defense at practice. Hadley revealed that the team’s coaches have also been scouting the teams they are going to play in order to know what else to concentrate on in order to win.
“Honestly, it will probably motivate us,” Perez said. “We’re just gonna work harder, even though it was a loss I’m sure we will bounce back.”
