Cross huddles one last time during Wednesday's game.
“I’ve seen what you guys can do,” Head Coach Deborah McClease told the Wilbur Cross Lady Governors after a tough 15th loss. “I need for you guys to show everyone else that potential.”
The loss occurred Wednesday evening at an away game at Windsor High School. The final score was 92 – 30.
Cross had a slow start for the first two quarters. The Governors went into the third quarter down 45 – 11.
The Cross girls came back from halftime determined to do better than they did in the first half. By the end of the second half Cross had more than doubled their points from the first two quarters.
Freshman Harmoni Thomas made several attempts at mid-range shots while also driving to the basket several times. With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Thomas sunk two shots each worth two points, bringing the team to 15 points. In the final 30 seconds center Jackie Fulton got the rebound after a missed shot by Thomas and finished the quarter with a layup.
The fourth quarter began with Windsor up 72 – 17.
During the final eight minutes of the game, Cross put points on the board with three free throws, a three-pointer by Cross senior Leilani Pugh, and junior Bella Gomez Stafford’s mid-range shot.
In the final six seconds Thomas brought the score to an even 30 with one last drive to the net and floater.
Freshman forward Harmoni Thomas drives to the net past Windsor.
Cross point guard Sirraya Pratt gets around Windsor defense.
After Wednesday’s game, coach McClease sat the girls down to remind them of the need to be dedicated to the game and to have confidence in the skills they’ve worked to build all season.
“You have got to make a conscious effort during the off season to prepare. You guys don’t have the luxury of AAU during the year like other teams, so you have got to get to the gym if you really want to play this game,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be your entire life, but you have to make it a part of your routine and not just fit it in when you feel like it.”
She said Wednesday’s game didn’t display the kind of players they are.
“I need them to dedicate their time to basketball so it can be easier to get on the court and show others what they can really do,” she said.
Cross senior Leilanie Pugh said Wednesday’s game was impacted mostly by the team’s struggling mental focus. “Simple mistakes could have been prevented, but you know in the game speed we get caught up in the momentum and we don’t slow down,” she said.
She said despite the loss, she won’t go into Friday’s away game against Shelton defeated.
She said she looks forward to the remaining games to continue “supporting each other and lift each other up.”
Often on the court Pugh tells her teammates “keep your head up, take another shot” after a miss.
Pugh said the team must work past its nerves, especially in new settings for away games, to improve its executions of plays and be more confident during games.
Freshman Harmoni Thomas and senior Kiara Cabassa added after Wednesday’s game that the loss was due to needing to do less “ball watching,” improve on boxing out and rebounds, and spread out on the court to collide less with teammates or have turnovers due to the ball hitting a teammate’s shoe or body.
“We have to get better at not ball-watching and instead step up to contest a shot,” Thomas said.
Cabassa said she wants to encourage herself and her team to hesitate less on the court and to “use our basketball IQ and follow our gut.”
Cross has two remaining games this season. This Friday they will face off in an away game against Shelton High School. On Feb. 12 they will have a home game against Cheshire High School and celebrate senior night.
Disappointed but not defeated: Lady Governors Leilanie Pugh, Harmoni Thomas, Kiara Cabassa.
Youre not losing if you are learning and having fun.
You can learn and grow as players by having someone record each game and pointing out what mistakes were made and what opportunities were missed and what you could have done differently.
And team coordination building exercises like practicing with two players tied together at the ankles like a three legged race to work on coordination with teammates during a game, and doing group line dances to create a better anticipated sense of what your teammates movements will be, will have the team working better together.