Gemini senior girls battle Huron Park
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There are no easy games for the Glendale HS senior girls in TVRA East basketball.
The Gemini battled for three solid quarters Tuesday, and only trailed by three baskets and a free throw going into the fourth quarter, but Huron Park went into overdrive for a 43-19 win.
"We only had one sub, which is tough," said Gemini guard Mariana Carson. "But our defence is really good."
"A very short bench, a lot of girls are hurt," said Gemini point guard Tori Cole. "We were tired (in the fourth quarter)."
It was a challenge, Cole admitted, but she noted it does have its advantages, too.
"I think it's more fun when we have more playing time. And you get better when you play more games - it's just easier to learn."
And the team has been learning, said Glendale senior girls coach Adrian Carr.
"They played really well tonight," said Carr. "We're so banged up, it's like 'all hands on deck.' Huron Park's in second place in the East - they're a good team. When we played them before, they beat us 40-26. Same thing, it was just a battle."
The Huskies led 19-10 after two quarters Tuesday, but the Gemini fought back in the third outscoring the visitors 8-6. They also had the majority of third-quarter possession time and at one point only trailed by a couple of baskets.
"As we go along and we get more playing time, I think get used to how the other team's playing," said Cole. "We just kind of adjust to that."
The end result was a solid game.
"Mr. Carr said that was probably one of our best games," said Cole. "We played really well, we're just not very good at shooting. Can't finish, really. But we're like... almost there."
The Gemini didn't take a lot of first-half shots, but they were letting them fly in the second.
"You realize you're down more and you start taking more shots," said Cole.
Huron Park caught fire in the fourth quarter, however, sinking seven from the field and they went 4-4 from the foul line.
"It was when they started putting pressure on us in our end," said Carson, noting Huron Park's press was extremely effective. "That kind of threw us off."
It's something Glendale has worked on in practice, she said, but "we need to learn, once we break that, to slow down, get back to the basics."
"I think it's inexperience that plays a bit of a role," said Carr. "You get into that fourth quarter, it's a close game, so your nerves start to go up a little bit. You start trying to score 10 points every basket...
"But I'm super, super proud of them," he added. "They played hard the entire game and they are getting better. They were composed in the third quarter, they ran their offence. That's what is so exciting - for this year and also next year. You want to see them make progress. If you do the little things - box out, rebound, and have some confidence, then you've got some offence. And they are starting to get it. They are starting to put it together."
Glendale's Haleigh Cole led all scorers Tuesday with 18 points.