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Sports
By Patrick Browne
The Forest Park Lady Trojans opened their basketball season with a home game against the Carney Nadeau Wolves on Dec. 5. Playing an inspired high energy game, the Trojans looked revitalized compared to the end of the previous season, moving fluidly on defense, passing the ball and rebounding after every shot. Despite their renewed effort however, they lost 48 to 43.
With the hometown crowd ready to settle in for a long winter of competitive basketball the Lady Trojans took to the court and matched step with the Wolves from the jump ball to the final buzzer.
Opening the Trojan scoring for the year, sophomore Elsie Williams put her team on the board with a three point shot only one minute into the game. The Wolves matched with a three of their own and the seesaw game progressed in like manner until the final buzzer.
Trailing 12 to 10 at the end of the first quarter and 28 to 22 at the half, every possession took on added importance as the game progressed. Despite attacking on defense, running the court and fully utilizing a press, the Trojans could not take the lead and only outscored the Wolves in the final period of play.
Senior Lauren Kudwa reflected on the game. “We had a lot of great energy on the floor and the bench tonight. Our defense was great, we were able to set up our offense and we hit a lot more threes than we expected. Unfortunately, we came up a little short. Based on this game however, we have a lot to look forward to this season!”
Seven of the nine Trojans scored on the night with Sophomore Elsie Williams leading the charge with 13, followed by Ava Fischer who scored seven and Lauren Kudwa and Delaney Wagner both of whom chipped in six points.
Trojan Coach Kim Bjork reflected after the game, “I’m happy with our confidence. Offensively we had seven girls score and we weren’t afraid to shoot. We have been seeing a lot of improvement and excitement in the girls and, even though we didn’t get the win, we are happy with the direction we are headed.”