BFA Girls Basketball 2008-2009 Game Highlights

[Loctavious]

Friday 12/05/08
BFA JV & Varsity Girls vs Colchester.

JV

JV Girls had a good beginning , sinking 1 of 2 foul shots of a technical foul for inaccurate information submitted to offical score keepers.  Held colchester scoreless for 2 minutes of the game but quickly succumbed to nerves, sliding to a 17-2 deficit.  Girls refocused their efforts an went on a 7-2 run in the 2nd quarter - holding Colchester to 2 points. 
3rd quarter held more 'nerve' mistakes for BFA and saw colchester go on a double digit run, building over a 22 point lead over fairfax.  4th quarter showed a determined BFA, as the girls went on a 14-4 run and shrunk colchester's lead to 12 points, despite BFA's starting PG absence with an injury.
The JV girls, though possessing a substantial amount of athleticism, will seek to make progress of the nerves affliction tonight against Milton.

Varsity

The Varsity Girls began strong and energetic against overall bigger and better shooting line-up from Colchester's varsity squad.  End of first saw BFA with a 7 to 1 lead over Colchester. 
BFA's mental poise diminished a bit in the second, no thanks to questionable officiating ( one could see 5 finger hand marks on arms, backs and even faces of multiple players - talking about street ball lol), but still managed a 1 point lead going into Half time.
3rd quarter saw BFA's slide continue as shots just wouldn't fall and the uncalled muggings continued.  BFA succumbed to Colchester's will and went down by 4 going into the 4th. 
With the extremely high level of 'allowed' contact, it was inevitable that someone would get hurt, and midway through the 4th - a colchester girl seriously hurt her knee ( knee cap).  BFA slid yet further and colchester racked up a double digit lead.  In the final 3 minutes though - BFA rallied and came close to breaking into a single digit lead but time expired.
Not a bad game by BFA - and definitely winnable with a few less mistakes.
Another big test for varsity comes tonight against Milton. 

[Mummy]

What time do the Girls Basket Ball start tonigh?  Is it a home game?

[Loctavious]

Sorry - alreayd left for the day - it started at 5:30 and was AWAY at Milton.

[Loctavious]

JV Girls

JV girls opened up Monday night's game in Milton with a few nerve mistakes, but quickly got down to business.  More evident in this game then the first game or 2 scrimmages was the mental poise of the players.  They moved the ball around with good passes, moved without the ball, and improvised broken plays well.  BFA quickly gained a 12 point lead in the 1st qtr.  The second qtr saw BFA play more smart basketball and great defense which helped grow their lead to double digits and almost a 20 point lead.

After half time, BFA protected the lead for a bit, but focused on working through some game play issues that weren't as pretty.  This coaches' decision allowed Milton to get back into the game and go on a 16-5 run.

4th qtr was time for business.  BFA had already tasted the blood in the water - and would not allow this win to get away.  4th qtr saw untimely nerve and mental errors keep the game close at first, but ultimately the team grew stronger.  Using it's defense to cause havoc, and key plays and players making critical baskets, BFA secured a win with a 7 point lead after a back and forth battle.

Both Milton and BFA teams gained invaluable experience from this game.  BFA resisted the urge to 'panic' and 'run wild' when things got close and Milton learned to focus and take one play at a time.  "A VERY entertaining nail-biter type of game,"  some of the fans from both sides saidafterwards.

VARSITY

Varsity girls had a daunting reality hanging over them - they were playing the Division 2 State champs from last year who had MANY returning players.
Scouting reports had Milton stacked with Height, Talent, Speed, and Sharp shooters and they soon proved it.

1st qtr saw BFA making small errors yet keeping pace for the first part.  Towards the second half of the qtr though, one could see the mental poise they did have starting to wane.  Milton was only up by 12 after 1 qtr.  2nd qtr saw BFA play a bit better at first, but by periods end, mental poise again started to fade.  To be fair - it's hard to keep focused and striving to do better when your best is cancelled out by players who out weigh your own by 20+ pounds + and 1 foot in height.  Even good position on defense is cancelled out at that point.

At half time Coach Driscoll discussed the realities,  and building on them what goals he'd like to see of his team.  The BFA girls did come out and play some better basketball, making the adjustments Coach Jim had spoke of.  Unfortunately, Milton had just used the first half as warm-up.  They started shooting and hitting a high percentage of their shots - 2's, 3's and foul.  Coach Jim just focused on what hey could do and tried to build on that - and there was some shining moments from BFA in the second half.

Milton IS 1 of 2 tough teams this year for BFA and we won't see them again ( thank the heavens)

[Loctavious]

JV   started off the game a little cold, going a good 3.5 minutes without a basket as Williamstown scored 6.  Defense was, as always are saving grace, as we quickly started creating & converting turnovers to get back in the game.  Sloppy play from BFA gave williamstown too many opportunities. 
End of 1st - 12-11 Williamstown. 
2nd qtr saw BFA calm down, and start playing smarter basketball.  Offense drove to basket and drew fouls.  Some players other than the usual top performers stepped up with some big time shooting.  The Blue Devils wouldn't go away peacefully though, as the game would prove.   
End of 2nd BFA up by 4.
3rd qtr, though historically a strong qtr for JV, was flat for BFA.  Lax on defense, sloppy on offense again - the girls need to continue to work on retaining focus on the task at hand. 
End of 3rd qtr, BFA is up by 3
4th qtr saw a surge in BFA again, Williamstown did a great job matching it for the most part.  BFA had great press pressure and WIlliamstown would show great poise and break it. 
BFA's #15-F was a huge force to be reckoning with on the boards, pulling down 10 pivotal boards herself, and in aggressiveness causing the other team a lot of havoc.  Not to mention her 8 pts, and 5 steals.  #23-PG showed great poise under pressure, controlled the ball well, broke the press with ease, and threw in 12 pts, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.  #14 used her energy and speed to get 7 steals, create turnovers on the press and contribute 6 pts.  #3-PG, played some good solid basketball as well, breaking the press well and adding 6 pts.
All but 2 BFA players scored - the 2 who didn't played crucial minutes - providing great Defense in the paint and on the post.

JV is now has a 2-1 record.

Varsity
 
Varsity started out a little anxious - forcing some bad passes and making some key mistakes.  it wasn't long until the Blue Devils jumped out to a 6-0 lead.  After a TO, BFA came out playing a bit better, but were still plagued by mental errors - which equate to Turnovers more often than not - and TO's WILL BE converted by good teams.

Varsity saw and up and down battle - trailing as much as 13 pts and getting as close as 5 pts, but could never establish a long enough run to shift the momentum of Williamstown. 
In traditonal BFA style, the girls battled to the end and kept their heads up.  The silver lining is that in EVERY game thus far there's progress and that's what it's all about.  It's defiitely a good thing.

[Loctavious]

JV

JV started strong and quickly established command over winooski.  outnumbering them 11-6, BFA used rotations of fresh legs to their advantage.  The spartans, in less competative phase, was visibly struggling, thus BFA pulled back on the throttle a bit, opting instend to work on certain aspects of their game needing more work. 

A game for support staff to really get some good playing time and looks, BFA dominated throughout.  Closing the game with an EXTREMELY reserved 38-9 victory and extending their winning streak to 3 and record to 3-1.

Varsity

BFA Varsity girls started out strong in the 1st, going up 6-o bu mid quarter.
Their focus and mental poise would soon begin to waiver and thus they let winooski back in the game.  By half time Winooski had erased their deficit and established a 14-12 lead.

Coach Driscoll, delivered a helthy dose of reality to the players at half time, stating it wasn't a question of skill at that poitn, it was a question of Mental focus and pride.  The Varsity girls needed to hear the frim voice of reason, as they started out stronger in the 3rd.  Though mental errors still occurred, BFA was better at keeping an over all focus throughout the 3rd and most of the 4th.
End of the fourth saw somewhat of a breakdown mentally for BFA, but a time out and intenisty adjustment, allowed BFA to secure a 3 pt lead for victory.

Stay Tuned for Game #5 @ Twinfield.

[Loctavious]

Though Twinfield HS was closed for classes yesterday, The BFA Girls JV & V trudged down to make their rescheduled match.

JV started out smart.  Limiting mistakes and playing some tough albeit holey defense.  Except for 3 good players, it seemed as though JV would keep the match close and the Trojans under control, but towards the end of the 1st, BFA showed weakeness.  end of 1st qtr - 13-8 Twinfield.  The slide continued for Bullets JV squad throughout the second, with BFA making bad passes, costly decisions, and slack defense.  Twinfield quickly capitalized on the BFA's lack of focus and jumped to a 17 pt lead before BFA woke-up.
End of 2nd - 27-12 Twinfield.

Half time was all about simplicity.  Doing simple little things that add up to a lot.  Smart bounces passes, squaring up everytime you've got the ball, and of COURSE - our usual DOG defense.  The BFA JV girls showed a MAJOR gut check by closing out the 3rd on a 10-2 run.
Beginning of the 4th and BFA is down by 7 and working.  A few lapses in judgement and whamo - back down by 10.  Try and BFA did, they couldn't close the gap further.
Alll in all, a good learning experience.  JV continues to get better at the mental aspect of the game and as ALWAYS never gives up.  Seeign twinfield beat us by 20 last year - even with our heart and surges, it was a good showing and, with 8 less turnovers, winnable.

Varsity

The Lady Bullets came out strong and fast against the trojans.  They took a quick lead from Olivia Root & Casey Bascweski's good shooting and protected it for a time.  Then some lapses in defense allowed twinfield back in it.  Going into half, BFA was up by 2.
Second half showed BFA makes some mistakes, but keep focused on task.  It also saw the continued aerial assault by Bascweski and Root, as well as their and Maureen McGuinnesses' fierce defensive ground assualt.  One could see a much more relaxed McGuinness right out of the gates.
Hope Towle, contributed some BIG TIME rebounds and Key foul shots down the stretch to cap her 9 pt performance.

BFA Varsity saw a fierce battle under the boards, and in the middle but maintained their poise long enough to seal a win. 

Second half was   

[Loctavious]

As of 7:00 12/30/08, the Lake Region game for tonight is STILL ON.  Lake Region will be one of the Toughest opponents for Girls Basketball this season, if not THE TOUGHEST.  Both JV and Varsity squads face an uphill battle against Lake Region Teams that have speed, size, good shooters, and great defenders.  BFA will need to bring their "A" game and then super charge it for tonight's match.

[Loctavious]

JV

JV girls started out strong on defense, holding Lake Region to no points in the first 4 minutes of the game.  The game plan was to deny fast breaks, and make them earn every point they got.  Defense slid a bit after the 4:00 mark - probably because of all the holiday rest and food. lake region's shots started going in at this point aswell.  end of 1st saw a 10-0 Lake Region lead.
2nd started out better, with BFA playing smart defnese again, and taking to the basket.  Unfortunately, Lake Regions shooting just got better, they started hitting from the 10+ foot range which made defending that range a lot more tiring.

The game just continued to slide away from us as we had virtually no offensive structure.  If you can't score, you can't win as they say - thus was the case with us tonight.  To be fair, BFA was without their starting point guard, which played a big roll in our lack of offense.  We'll look to strengthen our depth in that position and next meeting take it to Lake Region.  The silver lining in NOT having our Point Guard there - is that next meeting, they're going to think we're an easy team - which just may give us the opportunity to turn the tables on them. 

Varsity

The varsity squad was in even a worse situation with lack of personelle with 3 players missing - including a starter and 2 key players from the depth chart.  Coach Driscoll knew Lake Region was a phenominal team with great ball-handlers, defenders, and shooters.  One could see it as well in the first few minutes. 
BFA started out flat on offense, made a few turnovers and looked defeated at one point - and only in the first.  BUT, in typical BFA style, the varsity girls refused to give up or lose their grit.  BFA worked harder and harder over throughout the game, and jump started a their game.  Ally Airoldi had a huge game on offense dumping in 6 pts and playing some good defense against the 6'3" forward of lake region.  Hope Towle played really well against the towering opponent as well and scored the first points for BFA.  As usual, Casey B made some big shots to fuel her teams spirits as did Olivia Root.  Laura Bellack played some good defense and minutes as did Paige Gardell - adding a basket at a buzzer.  Sam Schraven played some fierce defense as well.  Steph Carr played a great game inside and made some crucial rebounds for BFA.  Most notably - BFA never gives up or loses spirits - they go out there and work their tales off every minute of the game.

[Loctavious]

JV

The JV girls anticipate a battle against Enosburg everytime they play them, and this season's 1st meeting didn't disappoint.  The BFA JV Girls knew that they'd need to bring lots of energy, perserverance, and mental poise to the floor if they wanted to compete.

1st qtr opened with with BFA playing some great defense but a little sloppy or rushed on offense.  BFA called a timeout to focus themselves after a 2 pt deficit grew to a 6-0 deficit.  Coach explained the deal again to the players, he'll call the timeouts, address the fixes and refocus the players attentions - the players need to MAKE the adjustments in game.  BFA came out visually improved making better decisions on both sides of the ball and playing a deny defense inside.  Then, the offense woke up - first with several players driving to the basket and drawing the foul.  THEN by Ashley Benard sinking a 3.  it wasn't long before BFA tied it.
2nd qtr saw BFA on some up's and downs - making some great plays but not finishing off with pts or some breakdowns on defense that gave Enosburg leads.   BFA never went down by more than six and lead by as much as 4 throughout the game. 
In the final minutes BFA had the lead by 4, went down by 2 and then went back up by 2 with 1:20 left.  Enosburg managed to make a great defensive stop and then tie the game up with 1:00 minute left.  at 45 seconds they hit an outside shot and went up by 2.  BFA got the ball back 3x in that 40 seconds but couldn't manage to get it out of the forecourt ( once due to an injury and twice due to great defense by Enosburg).  Enosburg won 32-30. 

Though not the sought WIN,  the battle on both sides sure made for a great game to watch - as one could tell by the crowd which was abnormally large for a JV game.  The BFA JV Girls, consisting of 9 freshman, and 1 sophomore, are definitely a maturing and fun bunch to watch.  Look for their next game on 1/8 vs Danville at HOME at 5:30.

[Loctavious]

As of now, the Game is still on.  Please come out and support your hard-working JV and Varsity Girls basketball team.

 

[Loctavious]

JV

WOA! what a snow day can do to momentum.  Though i love mini-vacations myself, they REALLY disrupt the learning process.  Anyone having attended the Enosburg game could see, the JV girls were just plain flat on offense.  Even their usual solid defense was a bit creaky.  It wasn't long before a timeout was needed.  There was ab obvious difference in skill levels between Danville and Fairfax, and it was certainly in BFA's favor, yet the JV girls just couldn't seem to get thing working right.  There was some obvious distractions, but it just didn't make sense.

The first quarter saw some ok defense, some good plays with no points resulting, and dismal shooting from outside.  end of 1 it was 7-6 BFA.

Though BFA's defense indeed improved to almost it's potential fervor, but offense remained elusive throughout the next 2 qtrs only adding 5 more points.  The Half time talk with the girls was more about mindsets and gut checks than X's and O's.

4th qtr started more of the same.  The highlight of the game to this point is BFA's depth on the bench.  As of the last 2-3 games the players coming in off the bench have made major contributions in the game and as a result have seen more and more playing time.  This game was no different, with our depth providing great inspiration and momentum for our struggling 5.  Second half of the 4th qtr finally saw the 'strugglign 5' wake-up and clear the fog.  They went on 14 pt run caused by a defensive explosion.     In the last few minutes, those who built our teams motivation and momentum from nothing in this game, were in there to seal the voctory for us.

BFA held Danville scoreless for 3 qtrs, and finished 31-6 at the buzzer.

Varsity

The Varsity girls had a big task ahead of them - big as in a big Danville line-up.  Even the guards were big, but fast.

BFA Started out good.  Playing hard and making some key shots, including a 3 from Olivia Root.  But the pace of necessary defense to compete was again just out of BFA's reach.  To be fair, Danville has some great shooters and DO NOT MISS LAY-UPS and SHORT PUT-INS.  It all comes down to shooting too, got to make them to score.

Danville started pulling away in the second, going into halftime up by 10.  Coach Jim spoke about ability and learning at half time.  He talked about where the grils can succeed and where their challenges lie.  Afetr that it's about helping them get to a place where they want to go back out and battle until the end, which they did.

The remaining 2 qtrs though saw Danville continue to shoot well, especially from the charity stripe.  Foul-calling was atrocious in this game, by that i mean, unbalanced.  You can't call nit-pick fouls on one team, and only the obviously flagrant on the other - that's taking the game out of the hands of the players and putting intot the hands of the officials - which should only be done in cases of safety.

This issue came to a head when # 21 on BFA was finally elbowed in the face - plain and obvious and the reaction from the crowd and coaches obviously queued the refs in on what they'd been missing.  One of them told Coach Jim to stop tryign to tell them how to officiate and wait for the call.  Coach Jim hadn't said boo to him the whole game and only said once to the other that 23 was camping.  nothign was disrespectful in the least.

In typical BFA fashion, we continued to battle to the end, and the players kept their heads up as they always do.  WIth the amoutn of inexperience on the team, it was known that it would be a season of learning and scraping for every victory.  the girls know it and the fans know it.  All we can do is continue to support them and will them to do their best.

[Loctavious]

JV

The BFA JV Girls have ahd a rough roller coaster week of Basketball.  A great game on Tuesday vs Enosburg that came down to the final seconds.  Then a Sluggish start ( no thanks to the snow day), but porgressivelty better ending - resulting in a big win vs Danville on Thursday.  And then Saturday's game.  Hmmm Where to begin.

BFA Girls started out strong - quickly putting an 8-0 lead on the board.  The girls passed well, ran plays, played fierce deny defense, ran a great press that caused a lot of turnovers for the other team, and shot well.  End of first BFA had an 8 pt lead.

Second qtr started strong for BFA with them extending their lead to 15.  But the second half of the qtr found BFA lose focus and fall into a bit of a mental lapse.
BFA hit a shot at the buzzer though to send the girls into half spirits up.

3rd qtr BFA made some inopportune fouls and Williamstown hit some key FT's in the long haul - they shot 12-29 from the charity stripe compared to 5 for 21 for BFA.  Slowly, Williamstown clawed their way back to with in single digits of BFA by the end of the 3rd. 
 
4th qtr the battle wages on, BFA hasn't heard from a ref on a shooting foul until this point - which was absurd to say the least.  BFA starts driving at Williamstown and drawing some fouls to shoot.  Defense broke down a bit outside and Williamstown took advantge of the weakspot - hitting key shots from there.  BFA saw their lead disappear quickly and then dig a 6 pt deficit.  Coach Banach called multiple time outs in the final minutes, pumping his players up and getting them focused and ready for the final battles.  BFA did fight as hard as they could through the end of the game - tieing it back up, going up by one, down by one and then finally down by 3.  BFA was poised to score with 15 seconds left, but turned it over.  They battled on the inbound and got it back via a Jump ball with 8 seconds left.  BFA inbounded it, and then got caught up in another Jump Ball - losing possesion to Williamstown.  Despite a valiant attempt, that was it for BFA.

These BFA JV Girls have been playing some great basketball - still young and making youth mistakes, but definitely maturing and proving they can compete with anyone if they DECIDE to.  Look to Tuesday's Game vs Peoples at Home for another hard fought battle by Your BFA JV and Varsity Girls basketball teams.

.... No varsity highlights due to absence.


. 

[Loctavious]

JV

JV started out smart for the most part.  Good passes, good movement, and good defense were apparent - but BFA quickly realized People's strategy - sit back in a zone and make us play half court offense - not the strongest point of our game.  People's zone wasn't bad - but was prone to mistakes - as BFA found a few early weaknesses and capitalized.  But those areas dried up quick for BFA and a back and forth battle ensued which lasted much of the game.  End of the 1st BFA up 6-4.

2nd qtr proved to be flat for BFA, and People's taking advantage of BFA mistakes.  Going into the half BFA was down by 2 after a People's surge.

Coach Banach spoke about fundamentals as always.  Smart passes, use fakes, and drive to the basket.  Never mind the officiating - i couldn't find it.  As always the girls rose their energy levels and focused in on how to improve.

3rd qtr saw BFA come out strong, and limit mistakes as much as possible.  #5 Danielle Sweet, having injured her finger ( later to be found fractured) refused to let her injury bring her down and played the best basketball she has all season - ferocious on defense and crisp with the passes and hustle on Offense.  BFA went on a 9-4 run to end the 3rd.  BFA 15 -12.

4th qtr was more of the same - back and forth mistakes, back and forth awesome plays, back and forth steals/Turnovers.  the only thing consistent was the quality or rather lack their of, of officiating.  BFA managed to keep ahead for the whole 4th and had a 4 pt lead going into the final minutes.  Coach Banach called a Time out with 53.3 seconds to go and spoke about playing good straight up defense and moving ball around on offense more to kill time.  BFA made a quick foul where only 1 shot was made.  an injury time out at 40 seconds allowed Coach Banach to stress the time - kill strategy.  BFA played hard and smart and only allowed People's one more shot after that mark, holding them to a 19-17 defeat.  Once AGAIN the JV girls bring their hussle and determination to the floor to make a great game and will their own victory this time around.

Varsity.

The varsity girls looked visibly more prepared than usual for a People's team that wore their lack-kuster motivations on their sleeves.  BFA used it's fierce and energetic defense to open up a nice lead to start the first and went into half up substanionally.

Noticeably different - body language.  BFA looked confident and moved the ball well.  The "Bigs" battled for every ball under the hioop and we were shooting better from the outside.

I wan't their for 2nd half - but heard that Peoples starting shooting better in the second half and started to close on BFA, but our girls were able to match pace for the most part.  BFA won by a safe margin and enjoyed yet another win in this tough season.

[Loctavious]

JV

JV traveled to Richford without 2 players, making it a small unit of 8.  Cold, bumpy bus ride over.  Soon after Warm-ups, it was apparent that #14 wasn't feeling well.  She had to sit in warm-ups and didn't feel well enough to play thus JV were down to 7 players.

1st qtr saw BFA play Patient offense, passing well against an average zone and finding some points on the post, off weaknesses in the zone, and some charity stripes visits.  Defense was palying well - great movement, great transistion and pretty well on the press despite not having the usual personel.  Richford made the first basket, and that was the last time they would lead.  end of 1st 8-2.

2nd qtr saw BFA get stronger on the press, and really start to exploit the zone - either getting some great drives to the basket or some good outside shooting.  Defense continued to play well.  Substituting was challenging with only 2 subs, but Coach Moore had a very tactical approach that seemed to minimize the lack of fresh legs for the most part.  End of second 19-8.

Half time talk was about mental poise, continued deffensive assault and keeping focused.
3rd Qtr was offensively flat for BFA, but their defense as always came out stronger and really made Richford work for any points.  end of 3rd was 26-13. 

4th qtr - sub situation starts to take it's toll - We see a lot of tires legs out there - compared to the beginning of the game.  As a result, the BFA JV girls were absolutely flat on offense and a littler too slack on defense.  To be fair, Richford came out int he 4th with a fervor they hadn't had all game, i think it was a good game plan to exploit our sub issue, but these JV girls don't go down without a fight.  the lead dropped to just 6 pts for BFA, weariness apparent and panic creeping in, a time-out was called.  Coach Banach explained that with 2 minutes left, takign time off the clock shoudl be the goal - lot's of good passes and movement on offense and NO GAMBLES on Defense.  BFA managed to hold Richford at the 20 point mark and towards the end of the qtr, #5 Danielle sweet borke the scoring ice sinking 2 fromt eh charity stripe.  The JV girls won 28-20 and are now 6-5 for the season.  AND looking forward to a nice week break from games to nurse injuires, get healthy, and get back into a good flow in preparation for Hazen at Home on 1/27.

Varsity

The Varsity girls have seen some pretty good pregress as of late.  Good inside defense, good rebounding, and some decent shooting.  Last night was a continuation of their ascent.

1st qtr saw BFA come out feeling confident, making minimal mistakes, and moving the ball well.  Olivia Root hit a big 3 in the beginning and Casey B hit a nice outside jumper.  Malrissa Perkins shooting and driving well from the baseline, hitting a big 3 and playing great defense.  Defense moved, was aggresive, and caused havoc.  By Half time, BFA had used some good shooting, great drive to the basket and Charity stripe accuaracy to establish a 16 point lead.

BFA didn't look back the rest of the game, finding Root again for another 3 and Casey B hitting some beautiful shots outside.  Hope Towel hit some great FT's and made a few good put-backs. All inall a great game for BFA where they asserted themselves and kept Richford under pressure the whole game.

Both BFA teams are coming off Multiple wins in the past few weeks and are starting to hit a good stride.