More Basketball

Yes, it seems like all we do around here right now is basketball. Last night was yet another of the marathon game nights. And as usual, it was not a night to remember. 

Middle school just looked a bit off. Of course yesterday was a holiday, so they've had no practice over a long weekend. Maybe that's why. Nathan only had 2 points.

We knew ahead of time that the varsity girls game would not be pretty. This school went far in the playoffs last year (maybe to the finals?). But we didn't expect an aggressive full court press until the game was 24-0! Then they pulled back the press from the baseline to halfway before the half court line until we were down by more than 30! Finally, they just ran a half court defense. We only scored from the free throw line until late in the third quarter. Elizabeth ended tied for leading scorer on our team, with 5. She made two lay-ups (against, I think, their third string team) and a free throw. Not our finest moment.

Varsity boys started off good. They actually won--the first quarter. It went downhill after that. Both our big upperclassmen were cold. Aaron only scored on a lay-up and took no charges, but he did have a few assists and was under the basket banging around for rebounds (he got a few) with guys much bigger than himself. But he hates losing. They are all discouraged. But young, small teams just often miss the mark in this sport.

They all have two more games this week (yes, it's a crazy week), but then we're just a couple of games away from the end of the season. 

An Ugly Loss

We played a small public school tonight--just the varsity boys--and it was ugly. We lost 68-30. 'Nuf said. (In case you are wondering, Aaron had 2 points and no other highlights.)

Back to Back to Back--Again

Two down, two to go on the back-to-back-to-back game nights! Last night the middle school teams had success while the varsity teams struggled.

Nathan's team won handily. He had his best game this season, scoring 11 points. He claims it was because Jeff wasn't there! He also had some nice passes and a couple of steals.

Elizabeth's tiny-in-stature-but-big-in-heart team couldn't do much against the big, tall girl that played inside. Her arms just went higher in the air than everyone else's! Elizabeth was banging around under the basket with her for much of the game, but 5'5" doesn't compete well against 5'9" or so. Add to that another girl who could shoot well from the perimeter, and we ended down by 20 points. Elizabeth had 4 points. One of the other seniors had 10. And that's all we scored!

The varsity boys trailed by 10 or so for most of the game but mounted a run at the end and actually pulled within 3 with 3:00 to go. But fouls killed us in the end and we lost by 7. Aaron had a good game, again tying for 2nd leading scorer with 6 and taking another charge.

I sure hope at least one of the varsity teams can pull out a win this season!

Basketball Marathon

Four times this season we will play back t0 back t0 back basketball games. Tonight was the first of those marathons. And none of it was pretty.

Middle school boys trailed the entire game, losing by 7. Nathan played well, scoring 5 points.

Varsity boys came out flat and trailed by nearly 25 points at the half. Second half was better, but by then the hole was too deep. Aaron tied for second leading scorer (again!) with 6 points. He also took 1 charge (and should have had 1 or 2 others called!). 

But the varsity girls played the heartbreaker game. They came out looking great, having added a couple of junior and senior girls who agreed to fill in (although one may stay) while Elizabeth was hurt and another player out of town. At one point we actually had four experienced seniors on the floor! Yes, Elizabeth was out there. No, she wasn't released to play yet. But have you ever known Elizabeth to be stopped by telling her "you can't"?

Anyway, they played great. They hustled. They scored. (Elizabeth had 4 points and 3 or 4 steals.) They led the entire game. Until the last 40 seconds. Actually, the last 2 minutes were a nightmare. I think they called 10 fouls on us and none on them. We literally couldn't get the ball back! With 40 seconds left to play, the other team went up 29-28 on free throws. We went down and couldn't score. They brought the ball up again. With just seconds left, Elizabeth fouled, as she should. When she did, the girl threw the ball at her and the ref T'd up the other girl. Then there was a huge delay as the refs discussed, because, of course, time had now expired. Finally, they gave the other girl 2 shots (double bonus) for Elizabeth's foul, then said Elizabeth would get 2 shots for the Technical foul. The other girl missed both of hers. Then Elizabeth shot--and missed both of hers. It was awful. She is usually such a good free throw shooter. Of course, she hasn't shot in the four weeks she's had her cast on. 

But the story ends on an up note. We were so proud of the way Elizabeth handled herself. After missing the shots, she was the first one across the court to shake hands with the other team. And afterward, she wasn't mean and nasty to us. She could smile and laugh and accept compliments on her play. So while she hated losing the game, she won in the arena of character. And that's what matters in the long run.

The Longest Away Game

Unlike football, our basketball away games aren't too bad, distance-wise. The longest is our trek to Sherman, about an hour away. What makes the trip so awful is that this district opponent is a formidable basketball school. Their teams, both girls and boys, are consistently in the last few games (or winning) the TAPPS state tournament.

 We got that one over with last night. (At least the one where we have to travel and get beat. They come here to beat us in a couple of weeks.) Their girls' coach was actually very kind. With their TWO 6 footers, they could have tromped on us much more than the 60-something to 17 win. But they pulled off their press early and sat their starters often. It nearly killed Elizabeth to have to sit on the bench. One more game as spectator, then hopefully she will be back in the fray.

The boys game was very physical, but our boys fared better than expected, coming away with a 64-44 loss. Aaron returned to second leading scorer with 9 and took 2 charges. They are playing better and better.

Off with her . . . Cast

The cast came off today. That was the good news. The bad news is that the doc said she still couldn't play basketball until he sees her again and makes sure the break is completely healed. (It's at 80% now.) Originally he said that would be two weeks. Then, when he heard the situation, that almost half her senior season of basketball would be over by then, he said he'd see her in 10 days and maybe he would release her to play then. That means she will miss two games next week but could hopefully be back by the third game. In the meantime, he said she could dribble and shoot, but without any contact from others. Those hands are important to her cooking career, so she needs to heed his advice!

Tournament Play

Aaron's team played in a tournament over the weekend. Here's how they made out.

GAME 1

We played a very large private school. Almost all their players were juniors and seniors. We lost 88-37. Aaron continued his streak as second leading scorer with 6 and took 3 charges. As usual, they gave 100% the whole game.

GAME 2

This was a game we should have won. Instead, we lost, 48-37. We were 5 of 20 from the free throw line and it killed us. The game was close until the end when we started fouling to try to get the ball back. Aaron's streak continued again. Second leading scorer with 11, breaking double digits for the first time this season. He also took 4 charges.

GAME 3

We ended up having to play one of our district rivals in the third game. They had a run of fast breaks in the 2nd quarter that we never recovered from. We lost 66-39. This game ended Aaron's streak of second leading scorer. He only had 3 points. It also ended his streak of multiple charges in a game. He only took 1 in this game--at least only one that was called! Still, the boys continue to give effort and, as the coach says, they improve with every game. Coach puts them at "mid-November" in development since they have had so few practices and games.

We will get a couple of practices in before heading into district play on January 6. Hopefully we'll have some bright spots as the season progresses.

Christmas Recital

For those of you who couldn't be here, this is Nathan's performance at his recital. (I FINALLY figured out how to do this!)

 The first song, a jazzy version of Good King Wenceslas, has a few rough spots, but the duet, Deck the Halls, with his teacher, is not to be missed! (Forgive the tapping. That's me hitting the camera. My video camera is on the blink and so I took this from my regular camera, which wasn't working right, either!)

Merry Christmas!

Off the Bus, Onto the Court

Five of our eight varsity players got home from a week-long mission trip at 2pm. They met back at the school to leave for a basketball game at 6pm. A week of no practice and an eight hour drive don't make for success on the court! On top of that, our big guy--a junior, our leading scorer and tallest player--was gone on a family trip. Hmm. A five guard offense.

Again, our boys played with lots of heart and hustle but took a beating in every other way. Aaron tied for second leading scorer (again) with his nice 3-pointer in the 3rd quarter. He again took two called charges! Now our league mandates no practice days through Christmas week. We return to play next Saturday. In a tournament. Against bigger schools. Yikes! Our boys need some consistent practice time, but because of football playoffs and now holidays, that hasn't happened yet. 

We're just glad for a week off from everything. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Another Hard Game

Nathan's team played the team that demolished them a few weeks ago--the one with a former NBA player's son on it. While they would have gotten whipped up on no matter what, the extremely poor officiating didn't help. It was so bad I was yelling at the ref when he was calling fouls on the other team that weren't fouls!

Nathan proved himself, yet again, more like Elizabeth than Aaron. He hates losing those kinds of games. He gets all huffy. You can't say a word to him--especially not "good game." But, like Elizabeth, an hour or so later he was back to his normal self. 

We get to do varsity boys again tomorrow, then a break until after Christmas. Yippee!

Like a Different Team

Tonight, Nathan's team played the team they played in their first game just a couple of weeks ago. That game, played just one practice after football ended, was a squeaker, decided in our favor by four small points. This game, after a couple of weeks of practice, was a blowout. We ran the floor almost without impediment. Toward the end, our young guys got to take the court and practice their game skills.

Nathan had 5 points, several assists, and even a steal. He made one of his two free throws. My mom took this picture of him from our seats on the upper deck. 

All-District Honorable Mention

I just found out that Aaron received Honorable Mention in district as a kicker! On our senior heavy team, he was one of our two sophomores to receive Honorable Mention. The first team kicker was a senior who has an incredible leg and is being recruited by major colleges. The second team kicker kicked for the team that beat us at state (I think he's a junior). 

We are certainly proud of all Aaron accomplished on the gridiron this year!

PROPs Drama Workshop

Apparently Elizabeth was one of two drama students in charge of yesterday's day-long drama camp for elementary students. I didn't know this until Friday when an elementary mom mentioned it to me. When she came home from her long day, I found out more. She and her friend Jordan, both members of the drama club at school called PROP (Performers Realizing Our Purpose), each wrote and directed a short Christmas play for the kids. At the end of the day, the kids performed it for their parents. Elizabeth's was based on High School Musical.

I wish she had told us the whole extent of it. We would have loved to have come see the play, the culmination of her creativity and leadership. Instead, I'll track down one of the myriad elementary parents who caught the performance on video. I'm so proud of her! This is a huge task in the midst of all her other things and she apparently did well on both the writing and the directing of the kids. It's always good when she can channel her drama queen tendencies into something productive.

Two for Two

I wish the title meant two wins for two games played. It doesn't. But I really didn't mean it as two losses for two games played, either, although we have that. I was referring to more personal accomplishments for Aaron.

I am so amazed at his confidence on the court this year. I don't know if it is simply being a year older, a good bit taller, or closer friends with the older boys on the team. Whatever it is, I like it. Confidence + tenacity (which he has always had) = something very good.

Aaron again took 2 called charges in this game. Refs don't really like to call charges, so for Aaron to have two committed against him in each of the two games played is pretty amazing. He has also scored three-pointers and a free throw in each of the two games, 1 of each in the first game, 2 threes and a free throw in last night's game. And he is two for two in being the second leading scorer on the team.

It's fun to watch, even if we aren't winning. And he is having so much fun--except for the losing part!

Not Pretty

Varsity girls had a game tonight--without Elizabeth. It is very hard--nay, nearly impossible--for us to play well without BOTH Elizabeth and Audrey on the court! But that's okay. This is the last game until district play starts in January and Elizabeth's cast comes off just days before the first game.

Varsity boys also had a game tonight. Of course, five of the eight players just finished football on Saturday and have practiced basketball all of about an hour and a half! Given all of that, they did okay against a really good team. Aaron played well. I think he'll see some court time this season. He scored 4 points, committed 3 fouls, took 2 charges, and a partridge in a pear tree! Seriously, he was majorly aggressive and has grown tall enough to at least give some of the guys out there a run for their money. Oh, and he actually took a third charge that wasn't called. He'll be sore tomorrow! He might even wish football back. At least then he got to wear pads!

End of a Great Season

It's been a great ride--not just this year, but the past four years. Our group of six seniors, who all played both ways, has been to the state championship game three of their past four years. I love these boys, all friends of Elizabeth's since 6th grade. My heart broke for them in this final game.

They all played great. In fact, going into the 4th quarter, the score was tied at 48. But then the other team scored--and we couldn't find the end zone. We lost 70-48. I was so proud of them all. Of course I was especially proud of Aaron who ended on a high note, making 6 of his 6 kicks. Truly grace under pressure.

My favorite part about watching him kick, though, is watching him AFTER the kick. He makes a point to slap each player on the back who blocked the line that gave him the time he needed to get that ball in the air. He did it every time. He knew his success depended so greatly on those boys in front of him. He is truly a team player. He knew he couldn't have done it alone.

I loved being a part of this team--who will always be champions in my book!

Put Her on the Injured Reserve

As you can see, Elizabeth won't be playing basketball for the next four weeks. Yesterday at practice she fractured her hand on the base or pole of the basketball goal (I'm unclear on the exact details.) Anyway, the cast went on today and comes off January 2. 

This is the first time in our seventeen years and (almost) nine months of parenting that we've had a child with a broken bone. And given their activity levels, that's pretty amazing. Fortunately, she only has one more week of school, then the winter mission trip to Amarillo, then Christmas break. The hardest part will be showers and hair-washing and cooking--trying to keep it dry and clean in the hand area. 

All in all, she's a trooper. But that is really no surprise. Jeff even had a hard time believing she'd done anything serious because she didn't show any pain. And, being Elizabeth, she'll milk it for all it's worth, both with us and with her friends, and tell the story with pride in years to come. 

Shootin' Hoops

Two games already this week. Nathan played last night. He played well, had a nice drive to the basket for 2 points, but his team got trounced. 

Elizabeth's team got trounced, too, but she played great. Fifteen points. Several rebounds. Only 2 fouls. And best of all--SHE PLAYED WITH A BOW IN HER HAIR!!!! Be sure to notice it in the picture!

State Bound

The boys won big on Saturday. They have looked great the past two weeks. The perfect time to peak! We ran all over the other team, literally. Aaron missed his first PAT to the left, but nailed the next five. On the final play of the game (we were 44 ahead in the beginning of the 3rd quarter), Aaron went out to kick the PAT. The other team called timeout. Aaron went out again to kick. The other team called timeout again. A third time Aaron walked out on the field, kicking air, getting ready. They snapped the ball, the holder (our quarterback) stood and dumped a pass into the end zone for the final point of the game. It was awesome! 

Everyone is so excited. Our seniors are in the state game for the 3rd time in their four years on varsity. They--and their fans--want this so badly! Here are Elizabeth and her friend Lauren grinning after the win. It will be a crazy, fun week!

GO EAGLES! WIN STATE!

On to the Semis

As you can see by the scoreboard, we won! It was quite a game. The other team opened with an immediate touchdown. We answered with 56 points, ending the game with 1:15 to go in the 4th quarter. The boys played great. 

Aaron hit 5 of 7 point after attempts. He missed to the left on his second one. On the final one, the one that would have put us up by 46, thus ending the game, the kicked was blocked. He HATES being the one that keeps the team from ending the game early. But coach let him make it up a few minutes later. Our boys drove to the five and were stopped, going nowhere in three downs. So on 4th and goal, they sent in Aaron to kick a field goal! Field goals are extremely rare in 6 man football. I thought for sure it was a fake and Zach, the quarterback and holder, would toss one in the end zone to put us up over the 45 point limit. But no. Aaron kicked! And made it! It was a 24 yard field goal and it ended the game. He was so happy.

Now we go to the semi-final game against a team we didn't expect to see (they beat the favorite in their regional game). All I can say is we are so proud of our team. They work hard, never give up, and truly personify team play.