Patriot Girls Take Down Two Tough Opponents
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBack-to-back games are no easy feat, but the Patriot girls’ basketball team was able to pull off two wins in two nights.
Before they could worry about Pender, they had to get past the Humphrey St. Francis Flyers on Friday, January 11. With a record of 12-2, the Flyers were definitely going to be a worthy opponent.
Sophomore, Cassidy Hoffman said, “We knew going into the St. Fran game that we would have to play phenomenal defense against them because they averaged upwards of 60 points per game.”
Shutting down the Flyers’ offense is exactly what the Patriots did.
The first quarter was just the start to an awesome game. The Patriots were leading 10-9.
The Flyers were able to score a few more points than the Patriots in the second quarter, and the Patriots went into the locker room trailing by 3.
The third quarter is where the Patriots really brought out the energy and intensity that they needed. Everything flowed together and everyone was having fun on the court and in the crowd.
Clarkson/Leigh knew that going into the fourth quarter, they couldn’t let St. Fran score more than they did. The Flyers battled, but it wasn’t enough to get ahead of the Patriots.
The Patriots pulled out the win with a final score of 53-46.
Senior, Kaegan Held had an outstanding night, scoring 24 points, while junior, Ashlynn Novotny contributed 12 points and 7 rebounds.
“We executed our game plan perfectly and came out with a win because of it! It was so fun and exciting to beat them, but we knew the next night would be almost as difficult against Pender,” added Hoffman.
"We've been looking to put together a whole game, all four quarters, and we chose a great night to do it,” Head Coach Matt Murren said. “The girls executed the game plan perfectly and made plays. It was fun to watch the excitement on the floor, on the sideline, and throughout the whole gym.”
Following their huge win on Friday night, the following day, the Patriots were ready to take down the Pender Pendragons. They were coming off of a very exciting game, and were going to have to use that energy to beat Pender.
The first half was a rough start for the Patriots. They seemed a little bit tired from their previous game, and they were a little bit slow.
The halftime score was 17-21 with the Patriots down.
Fortunately, the second half was a whole different story for Clarkson-Leigh. They came out of the half with lots of intensity. They were not ready to let the Pendragons beat them.
The Patriots outscored the Pendragons 8-3 in the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth 25-24, the Patriots knew that in order to win, they had to keep Pender from scoring.
Cassidy Hoffman said, “The Pender game was definitely a battle because we were tired from the night before, and they were a good team. We grinded it out though and got another win. This weekend was definitely an important part to our season, giving us momentum moving forward.”
The Patriots held the Pendragons to 11 points in the fourth quarter while they scored 13. The final score was 38-35.
Held had another great night with 14 points and 3 rebounds. Senior Hannah Kasik also had a great performance with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
"The girls did a great job of fighting through some tired legs and physical play to do just enough to get the win,” said Murren. “Controlling the 4th quarter was a key to the game. Defensively the 3rd quarter was fantastic."
These two big wins bring the Patriot girls’ season record to 11-2.
Stats:
Clarkson/Leigh vs. Humphrey St. Francis
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Clarkson/Leigh 10 8 16 19 53
St. Francis 9 12 8 17 46
(pts., rebound, assists, steals)
Ashlynn Novotny—12, 7, 5, 0; Kim Stodola—4, 1, 0, 0; Hannah Kasik—5, 6, 0, 2;
Beth Wiese—4, 3, 1, 1; Kaegan Held—24, 5, 3, 1; Halee Steffensmeier—2, 2, 0, 1;
Alissa Kasik—2, 0, 0, 1; Cassidy Hoffman—0, 4, 2, 0;
Clarkson/Leigh vs. Pender
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Clarkson/Leigh 12 5 8 13 38
Pender 9 12 3 11 35
(pts., rebound, assists, steals)
Ashlynn Novotny—1, 7, 2, 1; Kim Stodola—1, 2, 0, 0; Hannah Kasik—13, 7, 0, 1;
Beth Wiese—4, 6, 0, 1; Kaegan Held—14, 3, 1, 1; Halee Steffensmeier—2, 1, 0, 0;
Cassidy Hoffman—2, 4, 1, 1; Paige Moore—1, 1, 0, 0; Alissa Kasik—0, 0, 1, 0;