BFA Girls Basketball 2008-2009 Game Highlights

[Loctavious]

JV

The JV Girls had a tough go at it this game.  As always the BFA girls fought every step of the way.

1st qtr - BFA falls 4 behind for the first half of it.  Hazen was creating holes in our zone using baseline pentration and passing off inside for the east jumper.  By the end of the 1st, the JV girls had dug themselves a bit of a hole with a 6-15 defecit.
2nd qtr saw BFA come out in typical corrective fashion and start to take away that inside shot, and make some of their own using a press and surging defense.  going into the half, BFA was trailing by 18-27.
3rd qtr BFA stopped the inside shot of Hazen altogether, but then succumbed to the outside shooting barrage. towards the end of the 3rd, #15 - Renata Flanigan, Captain/leader/pillar of ferocity, went down with a sprained ankle - the same she fractuered last year.  Hazen went on a 16-7 run to finish the qtr with a 43-25 lead.
4th qtr - the JV girls fell apart a little here, perhaps mentally distracted by their captains injury, maybe distracted by the officiating, but none the less hit a wall offesnively.  Evyn Banach came out for a majority of the period having been elbowed hard in the jaw - though she went back in, she wasn't the same.  Hazen went on a 12-0 run to finish the game 55-25.

The JV girls will look to refocus their efforts and learn from their defeat, and prepare for a tough road stretch next week vs Lake Region and Peoples.

Varsity

the Varsity Girls started out better than JV for sure.  Their defense played well and limited inside opportunities after a quick 4 pt run by hazen in the 1st.  it seemed as though BFA could take advantage of some speed issues with Hazen's transition, butit never materialized.  Maureen McGuiness took control int he 1st driving to the basket 2x for 4 quick points.

Going into half, BFA was down by 13-14.  Coach Jim talked about how the girls have played fairly well but could shore up their defense and bring some more energy to the second half. 
Unfortunately, BFA came out in the third qte heading in the wrong direction.  hazen was asserting itself better out side and inside.  they were out -reboundign us on the defensive boards almost everytime.  3rd qtr ended without BFA having made 1 basket - hazen dumped in 11 pts.
4th qtr saw BFA's defense continue to slip - with Hazen controlling the defensive boards and working their transition offense well. 

The Varsity girls lost by an 18 pt margin in the end, never really recouping from the 3rd qtr deflation.  Look for them to go back to the basics, and renew their energy for the long trip to Lake Region next week.

[Loctavious]

JV

JV, finally being back up to full strength after havign 2 main players hurt during the Hazen and Lake Region games, were up to the challenge of 'handling' Peoples.  The BFA JV girls started out solid on defense but a little stale on offense.  Afer an exchange of baskets in the 1st, BFA used their defense to attain a 4 pt lead at qtrs end.

The second saw BFA hold a minimal level of activity, but play solid defense and keep poised.  Though the JV girls were shut out pt wise, they held Peoples to only 4 pts. again

At half time Coach Banach spoke about 'fine-tuning' about the need for everyone to play the way they're capable of.  It all starts with energy and not being lazy. 

Though BFA started the 3 well on offense, defense floundered a bit - mainly due to lack of patience.  There's a few players for BFA that love to be agrressive and sometimes teams can use that against you.  By the end of the 3rd Peoples had a 3 pt lead, out scoring BFA 7-4. 

A good thing the JV girls are getting this year is, remaining poised mentally - not giving in to worry or panic.  This was true for this game as BFA started the 4th with a scratch and claw back into it offensively and used stifling defense to both shut them down and Intimidate them offensively.  The plan worked as BFA went on a 9-2 run and killed time in the end to protect the lead.

JV girls this year aren't getting pushed around as much as last year.  With several strong players, they're doing their fair share of muscling other teams and players.  Look to the Up coming home games, including Winooski and Richford for the JV girls to exert their dominance.

Varsity

The Varsity Girls started out well.  They played energetic defense which really caused probelms for Peoples.  Hope did a good job of knowing where their strong player in the middle was and kept her touches of the ball minimal.  BFA couldn't get any love from the shooting or lay-up gods and missed a sizeable percentage - all game long.  By hlaf The varsity was only down a few points - a a good battle to that point.

Varsity girls came out a little lethargic on defense in the 3rd and peoples ran off a quick few baskets.  BFA was staying close though and just needed something to reignite their fire - but at the most inopportunr time, Hope rolled her ankle pretty badly.  the game was stoped for about 15 minutes as a nurse in the crowd helped out.  She was definitely out for the game ( if not rest of the season)

Unfortunately, as mentioned, this wasn't the 'something' BFA needed to reginite the fire - it actually doused any embers that may have been still smoldering.  The varsity girls went on a run of sloppy passing, sloppy defense and forced/borderlien paniced shots.  Peoples extended their lead to 12 by the middle of the 4th before BFA shored up it's defense but by then the damage was done.

The BFA varsity Girls have had a tough season, they're main goal has ne to compete - and thet have competed in EVERY game they've played at least a few minutes of it.  They've had some heartbreakers as well.  Coach Jim continues to focus on their development and and keepign spirits up.

[Loctavious]

JV

Not knowing much about Northfield this season and knowing how much teams can change ( northfield only had 2 returning players from last season) from season to season, the JV Girls prepared for a much higher caliber team.  One could see BFA's drive and hunger early on in the 1st qtr when they opened with a 10-0 run.  Soon after BFA took off the press and opted to play some great zone defense against Northfield.  The BFA girls had momentary lapses of laziness or sloppy passes throughout the game, forgetting no matter what they need to remain focused and at full throttle regardless of the strategy.  A planned 3 pointer at the buzzer closed out the 1st.  end of first was 13-4 BFA.

2nd qtr saw BFA continue to work on it's perimeter zone and iron out offensive plays.  Great defensive plays leading to even better transitional scoring was prominent throughout the game.  The JV girls played intense, full throttle basketball, while still keeping an eye on ethical practices vs Northfield.  End of 2nd - 23-7 BFA

Half time was about praising the good and emphasizing how to fix the not so good.  Then it was time to get back out there.

3rd qtr saw BFA work on passing and good play format on Offense and position and movement on Degense - holding Northfield scoreless the whole period and dumping in 6 themselves.  End of 3rd - 29-11. 

4th qtr was more of the same - be as ethical as possible - thus no pressing - just good ball movement and precision cuts.  The JV girls - having been in situations where the team is still trying to score as much as they can in the 4th - even with a guaranteed win, did not want to perpetuate that sort of behavior - thus they concentrated on killing time more than scoring.  If an awesome opportunity opened up they were to take advantage.
FINAL score was 33-16 BFA.  The JV girls are now on a 2 game winning streak - soon to be 3 after thursday nights hosting of Winooski. With Enosburg next tuesday, the JV Girls will be working on improving their defensive even more, and tightening their offensive game.

Varsity soon to come.....

[Loctavious]

JV

The JV easily won in the first meeting of the teams back in December, displaying their season-long solid and agressive defense.  Much more fluent this time around was their press, transitional defense and their offense.

1st qtr saw BFA open a 10-0 lead by using their press and stifling interior defense.  BFA closed the qtr holding Winooski scoreless. 
2nd qtr saw BFA take off the press and work on their offensie in preparation ofr tuesday's big game.  There's certain areas that always need work - and this was as good a time as any to do it.  Though only scoring 3 pts and allowing 2 pts to winooski, the 2nd qtr was a good practice and display of the fundamentals.  13-2 BFA.

3rd qtr was about being able to 'turn it on, and turn it up' after being dormant for a while.  The People's game, where the JV's were flat and quiet for the 2nd and 3rd and then lit it up in the 4th, was an indicator that facet of the game needed work.  BFA didn't falter though dumping in 8 pts.  Winooski, scored 6 pts riding a wave of confidence and solid passing.  end of the 3rd 21-8 BFA.

4th qtr again was about just doing what we could do on the floor.  Certain combinations of players have certain abilities and that must be considered.  Thus BFA worked on the fundamentals and scored 3 pts and held winooski to 2.  Final score was 24-10 BFA.

Th JVs were consdierably stronger in scoring and defense then their showing.  A lot of attention is paid to sportspersonship, ethics, and spirit of the game.  These sorts of games really allow teams to develop their support staff and weaker areas of their game. 

Varsity
The game begun with BFA a little jitterly - some 'nervey' type of mistakes.  Game was close btu BFA led going intot he second.  Ashley Benard started the second, and almost instantly injected BFA witht he energy it needed to awaken.  making several steals and applying intensive pressure, which caused havoc on Winnoski, BFA started to play the type of game they're capable of.  Ashley dumped in 4 pts and had 2 rebounds.  Renata Flanigan went in soon after Ashley and borught a rebounding presence and an additional 'steal' element to the game.  Renata pulled down 6 rebounds and scored 6 pts.
BAD news - Casey Baczewski, team captain and heart and Soul of thsi Varsity squad, went down with a bad ankle sprain.  Severity is still uncertain - but it's possible it's season-ending.  Casey Dumped in 14 pts in the first half before being injured, and was the only pulse for BFA early on at some points.

3rd qtr BFA was a little flat but managed to maintain a sizeable lead.  Maureen McGuinees had some big time steals and added some baskets  in the 3rd and fourth qtr to add to BFA's defensive and offensive barrage.  Ashley Benard played the whole qtr and added 6 more pts, 2 rebounds, and 6 steals to contribute.
4t qtr saw BFA open another JAR 'O" aggression on Winnoski.  Renata Flanigan scored 6 more pts and ripped down 5 more rebounds.  Maureen McGuinness, Malrissa Perkins, Olivia Root all contributed with baskets, Great defense, and good poise.  Allye Airoldi helped frustrate the Winooski Fwds and keep them to minimal pts.  Stephanie Carr played inspired defense, made some great passes, And took a HUGE charge before halftime to help fire her team up.

The Varsity girls got to have some fun last night which is always a great way to break up a season of development.  Coach Driscoll was pleased with his teams performance overall and psyched they were able to have so much funand enjoy themselves.
 

[Loctavious]

JV

The Enosburg was lookign to be more and more of a challenge than previously thought in the days and practices leading up to it.  Some kids were out sick and some were trying their best to tough it out.

Game day didn't hold any better news for the JVs as their departure time was moved up in order to alot them more tiem to warm-up - but they still left late and thus only had 10 minutes to wamr-up.  I beleive a combination of the missing players, the ones playing sick and thus not at full strength, and the lack of normal routine affected this young teams mindset and poise. 
by the 6:30 mark in the 1st the scrore was 10-0 Enosburg - BFA's shooting was flat and defense was lacking.  The good news is that from the 6:30 in the 1st qtr mark until the 3:00 mark in the second, BFA held enosburg scoreless. 
3rd qtr saw BFA try to battle back - but nerves would stymie any attempt to make a run.
4th Qtr saw Enosburg widen their lead and continue to control BFA, although from teh exterior now instead of the interior.

The JV girls have grown a lot since the firstr meeting and did seek to even the score, but as sometimes happens with young crews, understanding and focusing on how much MORE work it takes to prepare for a second meeting doesn't always compute.  The JV's will look to even the score next year.

Varsity

The Varsity had no delusions about playign the #2 seed in Div 3.  they had goals and wanted everyoen to play.  JV freshman Ashley Benard and sophomore Renata Flanigan played up again and helped with defense, scoring and reboudnign where they could, but BFA still endured a beating.
All varsity players played though and all kept their heads high after the thumping.

[Loctavious]

JV

The JV girls were limping into their second meeting with Richford, having 2 kids out sick - Starting point Guard Evyn Banach, and Interior Dominator Lyndsey Wells.  Hannah Gerke, our forward with a nice shot, went on Vacation early.  Both Renata Flanigan and Ashley Benard were also on loan to varsity - thus only eligible for 2 qtrs with JV.  Coach Banach and Moore prepared their squad on Wednesday night for the different scenarios well.

Game day had some good news for the JV squad - Point Guard Kaysie Unwin, sorely missed in the Enosburg rematch, was back to school and feeling a lot better.  BFA defintiely benefited from her presence.

1st qtr saw BFA enact their game plan to control the game by slowing the pace.  BFA passed the ball well and looked for key shots which didn't come easy.  Some foul shooting propelled BFA early and jump staretd an otherwise slow start offensively.  end of 1st - BFA 5-4

2nd qtr saw BFA open it up offesively a bit - mainly on a defense burst.  All in all passing well and pentrating as best they can.  Physicality, though worse in past games, was high in this game as was tempers with several BFA players berated by Richford poor sportspersonship.  End of 2nd 14-9 BFA.

3rd qtr was a draw with both BFA and Richford slumping on offense - only scoring 3 pts a piece - the main show of the 3rd was the defense on both sides - aggressive and energetic.  end of 3rd BFA 17-12.

4th saw a bit of battle ensue as Richford became desperately energetic and aggressive.  Tempers contineud to flare, BUT BFA kept their cool and took advanatge of the situation drawing fouls and again slowing the pace down and killing time.  Despite some sloppy passing on BFA's part and being outscored by a point in the 4th, the JV girls managed the remainder of the game well and preserved a 20-16 lead for the Win.

The BFA crew that played last night were able to maintain their foucs and mental poise enough to pull the win out.  With loss of mental calm, it could've easily been a defeat.  Proof enough that the whole JV team has grown significantly since their first game of their season vs Colchester.  They end their season with a 10-8 record - having a 2 game longer season and managing 2 more wins than last season.  A definite sign of improvement for BFA JVs.
Look to next season for many players to return and pick-up where they left off this year.  next season as of now, is shaping up to be another good one for JV.

Varsity victory soon to come.......