The girls were struggling all season with the victory against Whitman being only the second win of their entire season. Going into the game against Rockville, the girls only had two wins and 18 losses, adding up to a frustrating season.
The girls desperately wanted another win on senior night in honor of their two seniors Crystal Bridge and Mary Quackenbush who have been a part of girls’ basketball for all of their four yours years in high school under head coach Maggie Dyer. “It has been an honor to coach Mary and Crystal and see them grow as both basketball players and people,” Dyer said.
On Feb. 22 against Rockville, the girls started out slow. The girls couldn’t make any of their shots in the first quarter, which ended up in Rockville having a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the Patriots bounced back in the second quarter with solid defensive play and they decreased the lead so Rockville was only up 25-23 at halftime. Coming out of halftime, the Patriots slipped on defense, allowing a lot of easy baskets, which gave Rockville a lead of 36-29 at the end of the third quarter. Then going into the fourth quarter, Rockville ran away with the lead and it was too much for the Patriots to come back from, ending in a 48-34 Patriots loss. “It was a frustrating loss because I knew we were better than that team,” Quackenbush said.
The Patriots had their first playoff game on March 1. against Richard Montgomery. The Patriots started the game on fire, hitting all their shots to give themselves a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Then, Richard Montgomery responded quickly in the second quarter with a couple of three’s to grab the lead back with a score of 29-28 at the end of the first half.
Starting the third quarter, Richard Montgomery played great defense, only allowing eight points in the entire third quarter, which increased their lead to 43-36. Beginning the fourth quarter, the Patriots had a 7-0 run to tie the game back up at 43-43.
The Patriots tried to grab the lead, but the Rockets edged them out, ending the season with a 57-53 loss. “I really wanted to come out with the win but I enjoyed every minute of playing on this team,” Bridge said.
