Girls Basketball Team Beats Middletown in Annual Pink-Out Game to Remain Undefeated
by Joey Thompson
Despite falling behind late in the game, the Walkersville girls basketball team managed to come away with a 47-42 win against the rival Middletown Knights Thursday night, January 12th.
It was the annual pink-out game for the Lions, and the stands were packed with fans wearing pink and honoring breast cancer survivors. Before the game there was a moment of silence for a Middletown coach who had been lost to cancer, and survivors were given respect as well.
From the opening tip, both defenses were swarming. Middletown could do almost nothing on offense; at times, they could not even get the ball beyond half court. The Lions were not shooting very well either, but great offensive rebounding from everyone on the court led to the Lions taking way more shots than the Knights. They took advantage of second-chance points and led 14-4 after one quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same. Both teams were off their game on offense. Walkersville, which tends to rely on three-point shooting, was either missing their threes or getting smothered. They did manage to find some success driving to the basket later on in the quarter, especially with sophomores Julie Wallace and Megan Allen, both of whom made some shots near the basket when they really needed them. By halftime, the Lions were up 22-12.
The third quarter was a little different. While Walkersville remained cold from the field, Middletown started shooting better. Their threes started to go in, their layups led to free throws, and pretty soon they had tied the game up. The fourth quarter was better for the Lions. Sophomore Eve Bernardoni said “We stopped rushing on offense, got stops on defense and started getting the shots we wanted.”
Bernardoni, normally their best shooter, had been off the whole game. In the fourth quarter thought, she made a critical three and was more settled in the offense, leading to more points from the field and the free throw line. Up 41-40 with a little over a minute left, junior Rian Wright made a huge three to go up by four points. From there the defense made some huge stops, the Knights missed some free throws, and the Lions made theirs. In the end, the Lions came away with a 47-42 win. Wright said “The 4th quarter is really time to kick it on. You go out there, you work them hard on defense and work them on offense. When you do the little things big things start to happen.”
The Lions were tested for one of the first times this year, and they are better for it. Senior Emma Bernardoni said “That was one of the first times this season that we’ve been behind late in the game so I think regaining the lead like that gave us a lot of confidence to finish the game strong.”
