The AHS girls basketball team fell again Thursday in a hard-fought game against the West Springfield Spartans with a score of 40-57. This was the team’s second loss in the district, and their record now stands at 4-2 within the Patriot District. In Thursday’s game the scoring was not limited to just a couple of players, with points from almost every player on the team.
“It’s hard at first but we get over the loss. Losing just makes us better, we learn from our mistakes and work harder for the win next time,” said senior Aby Diop, who lead the team with 16 points and also had five rebounds.
Coach Pat Hughes took much of the blame, “I think that I can prepare them a little more for the next game,” said Hughes.
The Atoms’ next game is away against Lake Braddock Secondary School on Jan. 14. The Lady Atoms are confident and plan to do well against their district rival, Lake Braddock.
“I think we will come out much stronger,” said junior Kelly Hughes who had 11 points and three 3 pts.“We will come out with much more determination to crush Lake Braddock and get our confidence back.”
Players’ resilience and positive attitude, after losses help the team to hold such a strong record within the district. It is a key role in the girls’ success this year. “I feel great about the girls. We played one of the top teams in the region if not the state and the girls fought tooth and nail the entire time,” Coach Hughes said.
In the Patriot District standing, AHS is in second place trailing only behind West Springfield. This success is a great sign for a team that has been struggling for the last few years. This year was the first year in recent memory that a girls basketball team has defeated the T.C. Williams Titans.
If the team continues with the strong performances, they will likely compete for the district championship as long as they keep working hard and continue to improve from their mistakes game to game.
“We’re going to keep working hard, it’s a long season, but I think we’ll end up going far in the district tournament,” said senior Stephanie Burns.
With many talented but young and inexperienced players, the future is extremely bright, not only for this season but for the seasons to come. Once the newer players are comfortable with playing at the high school level, it is likely that the Atoms will be a strong competitor in the district with the potential to win the district title.
“I really like our chances for the rest of this season,” said senior Nikki Clarke. “We have a lot of talent, but sometimes we just can’t get a win, but I still think we can do well in districts.”
