Freshman Raegan Alexander said the team did not perform well on the defensive side of the court as the girls’ basketball team lost to Minnehaha Academy 56-68 Dec. 15, bringing their record to 4-2.

“Our defense just wasn’t as good as we thought it would be. We worked on it all week and had high expectations for it, but it just wasn’t there this game,” Alexander said.

Head coach Arsenio Richardson said some of the difficulties in the game involved a weak defense and the lack of starting strong.

“I just think we gave them a little too much credit at the beginning, and we let them cut out and dictate the pace, so we just gotta come out strong and set the pace ourselves,” Richardson said. “Our girls know that we’re never out of a game if we play defense and play hard, so we got to continue to fight and not let teams get comfortable.”

Richardson said despite the loss, the team recognized its strengths and looks to improve in weaker areas.

“We watch film and just focus on the girls strengths, everything that they did tonight we prepared for, so it wasn’t anything new the opposing team did, they just out executed us and outplayed us tonight,” Richardson said.

Senior captain Kamil Mayfield said the second half of the game brought the score close to even.

“Overall I feel like we played okay. (The) first half wasn’t so good, but I think we picked it up in the second half getting really close to a tying the score,” Mayfield said.

According to Richardson, the energy throughout the game remained strong.

“We fought back really well. We were down 18 and we cut it to three in the second half. We missed some open shots, but overall the fight is there, the girls stayed engaged so that’s good to see,” Richardson said. “We also got some good play on some players that kind of have been on a little bit of a slump.”

Mayfield said said there are benefits to having back-to-back girls and boys games.

“It’s always good with the double headers because you get to watch the boys and girls perform, and it was good for the team to have fans come out and support,” Mayfield said.

The next game will be 7 p.m. Dec. 22 at the high school against the St. Anthony huskies.