With seconds left in the championship game at the John Burroughs Varsity basketball tournament, the Lancers came one basket short of a victory.
Girls Varsity basketball has been playing back to back tournaments starting on Tuesday, Nov. 27 going through Dec. 8. Last week the girls faced tough defeat as they finished 5th in the Viewpoint tournament.
Through four 8 minute quarters of competitive play, the Lancers left barehanded. Throughout the game, the team struggled with keeping a consistent defense.
“In the last minutes, I felt like we didn’t play defense that well but we picked it back up as always,” Gaby Abarzua. “We just need to all execute throughout the entire game better.”
The game might have come down to the last few minutes, but every move made in the previous quarters set the tone.
“Some factors that lead to success during the game is when everyone started communicating on defense,” Abarzua said. “When we have each other’s help and got to the correct spots on offense without rushing the plays we made a difference.”
The players went into the game with a positive outlook after coming off from winning the night before against Providence. The game concluded with a score of 53-33 with The Lancers on top.
“My initial mindset was to do my best as it is for every game and stay focused,” Abarzua said. “No matter what happens we all play together as a team.”
The team was able to build upon their 5th place ranking in their Viewpoint tournament the week before. With the few days of practice provided during their Boroughs tournament, they were able to figure out what worked for them as a team.
“The most important thing that changed from the Viewpoint to Burroughs tournament was our defense,” Abarzua said. “We started to focus on defense more, practiced it a lot, and rotated better in the Burroughs tournament and got a lot more steals from it.”
The Lancers held their ground and kept a close game. By using this tournament as an example, they are looking forward to their next tournament, at La Canada where they are scheduled to be in the same pool as La Canada.
“From the loss, we took last night I will make sure to talk more on defense, rotate and help my team out, and execute better on offense for future games,” Abarzua said. “My team will do the same and trust each other even more on where to go on both offense and defense.”
By adjusting these few things, the girls are hoping to showcase their improvement and come out strong for their rematch at La Canada.
“I got lots of good comments about how you all played tonight from other coaches. Be proud,” Coach Joe Heredia. “I am proud of you and glad I am coaching you all.”
Much like the team Joe is looking forward to the rest of the season and hopes to keep leaving an impact on the teams the Lancers play.