**GUEST BLOGGER**
~ Eric Hendrickson ~
Game 4 - January 5th - against Haysville 3
We played game 4 against another Haysville team, some of the players being girls that Sarah knew.
Savannah (#10) had a great game. She fought hard for the ball, had several rebounds, and at least 2 baskets assisted by Sarah.
Sarah gave 100% effort during this game and could often be found on the floor diving after loose balls and fighting for the jump ball.
We were down by 6 after the first half. We came out flat, gave up some easy shots, and missed a ton of easy shots. The second half we are allowed to press full court. The team could barely get the ball in and rarely advanced past 1/2 court. Unfortunately, we missed too many shots and lost by one.
We had opportunities to win. We missed a few free throws with 3 seconds left. Sarah was able to steel the inbound pass and throw up a last second shot (from 25'). It was a disappointing day as we could have easily won this game.
Sarah had some fans come to watch, her 5th grade and 2nd grade teachers.
Popee and Nanee also came to cheer and watch.
Sarah only had 2 points, mainly due to constant double teams on her, but she did a great job of seeing the whole court and passing the ball to her open teammates. Too bad those didn't turn into assists.
Game 5 - January 12th - against Haysville 2
I missed all but 40 seconds of this game, because I was coaching Phoebe's first two Upward games. When I arrived we were up 18-4. This was another Haysville team, some more of the girls Sarah had played softball with previously.
Go team Wildhawks!
Savannah was unable to play today due to sickness so Sarah got to jump today. She didn't get the tip.
The girls came out aggressive and continued to play tough basketball throughout the game.
Sarah fought hard for rebounds and made some good shots today.
I was told Sarah had 14 of the 18 points plus a great assist.
Sarah met her 5th grade teacher's daughter. She was a former basketball and volleyball player. They came to watch her play today. Sarah is excited to start hanging out with her routinely to talk basketball and life.
Last Practice - Parents vs. Kids
Ro and I always have pizza and play kids vs the parents for our last practice. The older the girls get, the more difficult it gets for us parents.
Both sides played well and the kids ended up winning on a last possession basket.
We had a great group of girls and parents this year. (4) of the (10) girls are 6th graders, so Ro will have a good core of girls coming back to play next year.
Game 6 - January 19th - against Mulvane 1
(Postponed till January 26th due to weather.)
We ended up having a weekend of no basketball due to snow/ice. Since Stacee and I were sick with the flu, we welcomed the cancellation.
Our last game was against a scrappy team from Mulvane. This team previously beat the team that had beaten us by 1.
The game was close through the first half and we had a (1) point lead, 8-7 at halftime.
The second half, we were allowed to press. We play an exceptional press and hardly any team has been able to break it. The only thing that seems to work for the other teams is when they throw it as hard as they can down the court.
The other team fouled quite a bit which gave us opportunities in both the first and second half to shoot free throws. They even had one girl who fouled out.
Suffocating defense.
Sarah scored 7 in the fourth quarter, including a 3 pointer, to push the lead to 10 points.
We won the game and were champions of the league with a 5-1 record.
The girls were all very excited!
League CHAMPS!
The score was 17 to 7. Sarah had 11 points. It was a great game for Sarah. She had confidence to take the jump shot and make it. She played tough defense, had some great assists, and some fantastic steals.
Great year for Sarah playing HAC ball and a great year for the Wildhawks.
