A Rough Loss

On Thursday night, West Springfield’s Girls Varsity Basketball team lost a heartbreaking 45-44 loss to nearby rival Lake Braddock. The Spartans struggled to stave off the Bruin’s offense and their fouls. Nevertheless, they fought to the finish.
The first quarter ended with West Springfield down 15-10, but the Spartans outscored the Bruins 17-12 in the second quarter to go into halftime tied at 27. It was a pretty physical game, aside from the fouls, there were several jump ball situations. At times it seemed more like a brawl instead of a basketball game.
The Spartans offense led by Senior Elizabeth Chasteen racked up 18 points in the valiant effort by the Spartans. West Springfield came into the game with a strong 4-1 record. They were pretty dominant the past few games. So they should quickly regain their swagger.
Near the end of the game, it looked like the Spartans could pull it off. Freshman Kaelyn Allen hit a three-pointer halfway through the fourth quarter to give the Spartans a small lead. But the Bruins scored a few threes to take the lead. West Springfield tried their best to get the ball back. But Lake Braddock kept them away from the net for the remaining few seconds.
West Springfield’s next game is a tournament tomorrow with a yet to be determined opponent.

A Rough Ride

Last Friday night, the Bruins Boys Varsity Basketball team extended their win streak to two as they hammered Chantilly 81-61. The Bruins’ faithful we’re witnesses to a game that was really aggressive and stricken with fouls. Bruins’ HC Brian Metress has always had a hard-nosed style of play, but the most of the fouls were committed by Chantilly. Both teams combined for almost 50 fouls throughout the game, it seemed like both teams were trying to outgun their opponent with muscle.

Lake Braddock’s offense largely consisted of free throws and three-pointers and the Bruins got off to a strong start. Cruising to a 10-2. Chantilly charged back and went into halftime down 39-30, the bolts kept things interesting in the first half. Only for Lake Braddock to blow them out in the second half.  

Head Coach Brian Metress attributed his team’s strong start then struggle to their, “Pressure defense that eventually got overly anxious,” but overall they were able to overcome Chantilly’s short lived rally. Forcing the Chargers to remain winless.

Shooting from beyond the arc was always the plan for Lake Braddock, the free throws on the other hand were frequent because, “We were trying to steal the ball instead of anticipating the steals,” explained Metress.

Despite Lake Braddock’s 2-0 start, the team isn’t getting to excited, “This district is tough, so every game will be a toss up,” explained Metress. Lake Braddock will play again this Friday against West Springfield and they’ll look to continue their hot streak.