Crusaders Defeat Mustangs in Home Opener!
Last week Faith travelled to Moapa Valley High School to play a team from Moapa Valley, and this week a different Moapa team, from Mack Lyon Middle School, came to the Student Center for a rematch. In what was a spirited game, the Crusaders used excellent 2nd & 3rd quarters to propel them to a 35-8 victory.
The first quarter featured some excellent defense from both teams. Addison and Mia W were very aggressive defensively and each got a few steals. Addison made one of the Faith buckets in this stanza, with the other hoop coming on a nice jumper from Annika. Faith led 4-0 after the first six minutes.
The Crusaders got the offense going in the 2nd quarter while maintaining the defensive intensity. Portlyn had an excellent finish for a hoop and Danielle made a nice mid-range jumper. Neveah made quite an impact in this frame, scoring every way possible, as she scored from the FT line, from the field, and from beyond the arc, finishing with nine for the period. Faith again did not allow any points, with Skylar, Dena and Mia B doing some excellent things on the defensive side of the ball. It was 17-0 at the break.
In the third quarter we worked on the new offensive concept that we had been implementing in practice, and it went well, as we got some excellent ball movement as a result of it. Portlynn made two EXCELLENT passes in the third quarter, resulting in baskets for Danille and Mia W. Ariana also had a couple of steals in her time on the floor in this quarter, while Addison and Neveah each added baskets as well. Mack Lyon got a basket off an inbounds play and also hit a jumper, making the score 26-4 after three quarters.
ML closed it to 26-6 early in the fourth before Faith went on a nice run to make it 35-6. Skylar did some excellent board work during this stretch and Annika continued to work very hard and create opportunities for herself and others. Sabrina got to play for the longest stretch of time she has played so far, making a good pass in the final final two minutes. Moapa did get the final tally of the game to account for the 35-8 final score.
Everyone played very well, and both Danielle and Annika earned special recogntion from the coaches, earning the "game bracelet" for thier performance. After the game, we got to see the scoresheet (Sabrina does SUCH a good job with that) and we see that on top of her points, Porlynn affected the game in so many other ways, with four rebounds, four steals, and three assists as well. That is the type of thing we talk about - finding ways to help the team every second you are on the floor, whether that be scoring or other ways. Portlynn was a great example of this today.
With the result, the team improves to 2-0 on the seaon and is looking forward to our game on Thursday against New Horizons Academy.
Go Faith!
