After a 58-63 loss to Chanhassen, girls’ basketball coach Arsenio Richardson said the fundamental problem leading to the teams loss was its inability to start off strong.

“We didn’t come out in the first half with the same intensity as Chanhassen, therefore we got down by twenty points,” Richardson said. “(The) second half was a little better as we picked up defensively and tried to communicate, but we can’t get down and not bring intensity with a team like Chanhassen.”

Freshman Kendall Coley said although after a rough first half, the team persevered and came close to a comeback.

“They had some runs on us early on, but later in the game we picked up and had a really good defense and came to work together as a team,” Coley said.

Richardson said strategy-wise the team needed to display more teamwork and aggressiveness to outplay Chanhassen.

“We weren’t really communicating on a lot of their screens, and we were not tough enough to get some offensive rebounds. Those two things led to Chanhassen getting a ton of points,” Richardson said.

Coley said although the team was dedicated throughout the whole game, it only really showed during the second half.

“We played hard in both halves, but there was just another level of energy and chemistry between the players in the second half that brought us out as a team,” Coley said.

Richardson said after falling behind in the first half even good teams would struggle catching up.

“We were not in best spirits, but that’s definitely not an excuse,” Richardson said. “The second half we came out and we fought and got caught up from twenty but it’s just tough to come back and win facing good teams.”

Coley said support from the bench kept the whole team alive and high spirited.

“I think all the energy coming off the bench going into the game made it easier to perform on the court. It gave the team a really positive attitude to everything we were doing,” Coley said.

Richardson, reflecting on the game, said the girls need to perform right from the start with high intensity to win games.

“We just knew the game was going to be tough, but the fact we only lost by five shows that if we play hard for the full game, we are capable of beating teams like that,” Richardson said.

The Orioles’ next game is 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Bloomington Jefferson.