By Jason B. Hogan
The women’s basketball team received its first loss of the season on Nov. 7 to the S.A. All-Stars with a final score of 65-57.
The loss was not at all disheartening, it was a scrimmage between the two teams, said Coach Will Dykes.
“We just lost because we didn’t play our game,” Dykes said. “There was some intimidation because they’re (All-Stars) an older team and some of the girls play with them in the summer league.”
The Lady Rangers began with a hustle style of play.
In the first two minutes of the game, the Lady Rangers capitalized on forced and unforced turnovers by the All-Stars with fast movement into their transition game.
Dykes chose to go with a smaller line-up about midway through the first half.
The Lady Rangers found it hard to move the ball inside for easier scores and were forced to take long shot attempts allowing the All-Stars to collect long rebounds.
As the first half drew to a close, the Lady Rangers’ defense began to react slower, sending them into foul trouble and giving the All-Stars more chances for point conversions at the free-throw line.
The Lady Rangers played their best basketball opening up the second half.
They changed the momentum of the game with an aggressive defense, not allowing open shots in the paint and long rebounds that translated into 6 points on the fast break.
The Lady Rangers were allowed to score at will with sharp moves into the paint and wide-open shots from the perimeter.
But the All-Stars retook the lead with a 10-0 run of their own, lasting until the third quarter.
Rebounding and capturing loose balls became too costly for the Lady Rangers, and the All-Stars formed a 15-point lead, the largest of the game.
The Lady Rangers were able to come within 8 points of the All-Stars, but that was the extent of any possible comeback.
Team chemistry was one of the biggest reasons for the loss, Dykes said.
“That had a lot to do with it,” Dykes said. “We need to keep it consistent and play 40 minutes of basketball.”