Going into their game on Thursday, January 23rd, Woodland’s Girls Basketball team was unsure of what would happen. With a record of three wins and nine losses, Woodland wanted to win against of Derby on their home court. But there was something a little different about the games being played on that night as opposed to a regular game night and the girls were nervous about how it would all play out.
At Woodland, the freshman teams usually play first around 3:30, junior varsity plays their game around 5:30, and then finally varsity gets their big game at the end of the night usually around 7:30. However, this was not the case for the games against Derby. Due to the fact that both teams are generally small, and do not have freshman teams, the night did not start until 5:30. Both teams have a small number of players- only ten girls, and there are five players on the court at a time. Despite small numbers, Woodland has always followed the rules and played junior varsity first and varsity second, even though most girls play in both games. That night though, Derby wanted to change it up and requested to play the varsity game first at 5:30, followed by the junior varsity game at 7:30. This turn of events was different for the Woodland team. When athletic director, Brian Fell, approved of the plan the girls were frustrated.
Despite their frustration, the girls played well and the game ended in overtime with a score of 47 Derby 45 Woodland.
“We played well but in the end it just didn’t go our way. We are a young team and just have to keep working to get better. I’m still proud of my girls for how hard they all played,” said Senior Captain, Andrea Piccolo.
The girls will have another chance to try to get their win against Derby on February 18th in Derby. Following that game will be the NVL tournament. But between now and then there will be many games to determine each team’s place in the tournament.
