The JV girl’s basketball team competed in their first tournament of the season last weekend in Lazbuddie. After a few games under their belt, they were preparing to take on three new teams including Hart, Dimmitt, and Smyer. However, after a cancellation with Hart, the Lady Wolverines went 0-2 after only facing Dimmit and Smyer. Despite the losses, the Lady Wolverines made their opponents work for the wins.

“The JV played great games against their opponents, and they played as a team to keep their opponents on their toes,” junior Jenna Bridges said.

Up first, the Lady Wolverines were joined on the court by Dimmitt’s Lady Bobcats. By halftime, the score was tied at 12-12, leaving tensions high going into the last half of the game.

“We were taking the lead throughout the first and second quarter,” Bridges said. “Seeing the score tied at halftime, I had confidence that the girls would pull through.”

Due to complications with miscommunication in the second half of the game, however, SE took their first loss.

“I think we all tried our best to get a win, even though we had some miscommunication throughout the game,” sophomore Bella Gonzales said. “Unfortunately we lost, but it’s okay because in the end, we all got something out of the game.”

Coach Sarah Weldon also hopes her team took away a very important lesson to be learned.

“I hope that they learned that teamwork is important and realize we have to work better as a team,” Weldon said. “We can’t let up when we go into the second half tied or winning.”

Despite the miscommunication, SE had major accomplishments as a team.

“We were able to play as a team, we looked out for each other, and encouraged each other,” freshman Rylie Furr said. “We picked up each other when we did something wrong.”

With teamwork, the girls were able to put up a good fight against Dimmitt, and didn’t let the loss interfere with their confidence going into their next game against Smyer.

“I saw a lot more confidence in the girls’ shooting abilities and ball handling,” Gonzales said, “but we definitely need to work on communicating on defense and getting open more.”

The Lady Wolverines did take another tough loss against Smyer, preventing them from progressing into the championship, but they kept their heads high as they walked off the court as a team.

“Even if you lose, you can still have a good game. Sometimes it’s better to lose than win,” Furr said.

The Lazbuddie Tournament allowed the players to see what skills they were really strong at, and what they could apply in future games.

“The biggest take away from the tournament was losing both games because we tried our hardest to make everything work, but it just wasn’t enough,” Gonzales said. “Communication is a huge part of not just life but in sports too. It can really affect yourself and your team.”

Going into this week’s games, the JV team is hoping to apply these lessons learned and add some wins to their season!

“Defense is going to win for us no matter what,” Weldon said. “If we can play defense, we can beat anything we come up against.”