Mustang boys bring home win against North Park
by Mykaela A. Jones
Sydney Ritschard takes the tip-off at the start of overtime. Mustangs fought
hard to bring the game to overtime, but ultimately a short-handed WG team
lost to a strong Summit Tiger team.
Over the past weekend, the West Grand basketball team suffered more losses and setbacks. The girls team lost 46-35 on the Mustangs’ home court in a nail biting overtime game against Summit. The game was deadlocked at 34 which gave the audience and players hope for the potential win of the game. While the girls did not take home the win in this physical and obstructive game, Coach Elizabeth Bauer mentioned how she was excited about the energy that many players emitted when the game entered into overtime. Bauer talked highly about the girls and said that she sees these losses as just an opportunity to get better as a team. Stating confidently, “(the team) As individuals are doing well in their skill development, but we really have to work a lot harder to close that gap and start working harder together as a team.” She went on to praise the younger members of her team, saying that they really stepped up their game and contributed hard work ethic to not only their personal plays, but to the team as a whole.
In the next event, coach mentions while the North Park game got off to a bad start the girls made progress of a great proportions in the second half. She stated, “The exciting thing was in the second half, the score was 22-20 (North Park Leading) and when the girls could have given up they did not. I am proud of how they responded in that game.” While the girls still lost 65-33, the team is looking forward on improving their skills as a whole unit. Coach said she wanted to recognize sophomore player Emma DeSanti, and junior player Anna Douglass for stepping up and bringing more energy to the games. With four of the varsity players out due to injury it has been a difficult road. The team plays against Vail Mountain on January 19 and a home game against Plateau Valley on January 20.
The boys team, on the other hand, lost the home game against Summit in a low energy game. While many players were able to show great work ethic and strong will throughout the game, the team as whole just moved with low and somewhat dragging energy. Head Coach Leo Pesch said that the summit game has really good guards and that while they struggled a little he was quote “proud of how the boys responded” throughout the game. Coach also mentioned how the team struggled to adjust as a whole with Austin Stauffer being out due to an ankle injury. The final score was a disheartening 60-37.
Their game in North Park was more successful with the Mustang boys bringing home a win, The final score of the much anticipated North Park rivalry game was 59-41.
The boys played a rough and violent game, redeeming themselves from their loss against the Wildcats last year. Those in attendance of the game said that it was a very entertaining game to be at. While Brady Gore may have suffered an injury to his hand, he still carried the team with the strength of a bull.Coach Pesch said, “The players are starting to figure it their new rules, and their effort (at North Park) was outstanding.”
Coach also believes that Joshua O’Hotto, Luis Dominguez, and Jake Bentley really stepped up their game in this match. Coach also wanted to recognize the effort and growth of Rene Dominguez and Kolby Hester, saying wholeheartedly that these two players are “really starting to come along and help out the team. I am proud of our team and our effort.”
