Park girls basketball played Waconia at home Tuesday, Feb. 10. The game was very back and forth with many fast breaks and both sides adopting a full-court press at times throughout the game. Park has a team of mostly underclassmen this season, and while this younger team showcased its skill and determination during the game, the Waconia team was able to use its size to its advantage to out-rebound and out-pressure the Orioles, leading to Waconia winning over Park with a final score of 89-49.
Varsity head coach John Hayes said his message to the team leading up to the game was to not shy away from using their bodies against a stronger opponent and to maintain a positive attitude throughout.
“We knew they would be a very physical opponent, and it was going to be a battle. The message was to box out, take care of the ball, control what you can control, come out with great effort, great attitude and the rest will take care of itself,” Hayes said.
Freshman Ella Ludwig said the team stayed competitive till the final buzzer, and their teamwork was apparent throughout the game.
“We’re a pretty young team starting mostly underclassmen, but I thought that we played really hard. We played till the end, and I appreciate the effort that our teammates gave. Everyone pitched in and did their job,” Ludwig said.
Junior captain Abby Carlson said the game felt hard for the team at times, but perseverance was key to overcoming and succeeding in those situations.
“There are ups and downs throughout every game, but we just have to keep pushing through and staying competitive. Even if bad things happen, we have to keep our heads up and keep trying,” Carlson said.
According to Hayes, he told the team to keep playing hard, no matter the score of the game, because even while losing, playing at a high level can still lead to improvement. He said to value all playing time, no matter the situation.
“Regardless of time or score, we need to continue competing,” Hayes said. “We were down 20 at half, but the message was, how are we going to respond? Are we going to put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves? Are we going to go out there and compete till the very end, and it’s an opportunity for us to get better individually? It’s an opportunity to get better as a team. So take advantage of the second half. Take advantage of the opportunity and get better.”
Ludwig said for the team to be able to win against stronger opponents, they had to raise their level from a physical perspective. She said with more experience the team will have a clear path to success.
“It’s physical, mostly, taking care of the ball, rebounding and hustle things that we have to work on. Other than that, if we can run the floor and work on our defensive pressure, I think that could do a lot of positive things for us in the future,” Ludwig said.
Carlson said the team needs to continue to strive for improvement in the second half of the season and should stay consistent with strong teamwork as well.
“We need to keep working hard and showing up every day, even if we don’t feel like it. Since we’re getting towards the end of the season, we should be looking out for our teammates and making sure we’re playing hard the whole game,” Carlson said.
Hayes said the team is going to continue to improve this season in practice, and they are now looking towards sections as an opportunity to showcase their growth.
“We knew they were going to be an extremely tough opponent, but following the game, the message that we gave the girls was to show up ready to get better tomorrow. We still have a lot of season left. We have three regular-season games, and then we’ll put ourselves in a position to most likely host a section tournament game here against either Washburn or Armstrong” Hayes said.
Park girls basketball plays New Prague away at 7:00 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 12.
