http://www.vermontjournal.com/news/2010-01-27/Sports/Woes_Continue_for_Springfield_Girls_Basketball.html
Woes Continue for Springfield Girl’s Basketball
By MICHAEL MARTEL Vermont Journal
SPRINGFIELD -Coming into last week riding its much needed win over rival Bellows Falls, the Springfield girl’s basketball team knew it had a tough week ahead, with matchups against a pair of teams who had previous beaten the Cosmos: 7-4 Fair Haven and 5-7 Otter Valley. Despite improving on its previous play against both the Slaters and Otters, Springfield dropped both games, 55-29 and 39-33.
The Cosmos’ twenty-six point road loss to Fair Haven was, while disappointing, an improvement over their previous 78-28 drubbing two weeks earlier. Springfield muscled through a tough, but close first half only to falter in the second. “We just didn’t come out with enough in the second half to put the game away,” commented coach Brodie Ladue. The main reason for Springfield’s second half trouble, according to Ladue: a slower-paced game complexion as dictated by the referees. “Not to make excuses, but the calls forced us to play a different style than we are used to, and it didn’t work out to our advantage,” noted Ladue.
Nevertheless, the Cosmos’ improved result against the second-place Slaters owed a lot to the return of point guard Desmond Dana, who missed the last Fair Haven matchup. “It was really nice to have her back,” noted Ladue, “she controls the floor nicely and works hard defensively.”
Springfield’s second game, at home against Otter Valley, was also an improvement over the teams’ last meeting, a 41-30 Otters win. As with the Fair Haven game, the Cosmos were forced to play a slower-paced, half-court game, although this time dictated by the Otters offensive sets. “We played hard, but our half-court sets didn’t go as well as usual,” commented Ladue. “We like to run and fast break, and we didn’t get many chances to do that against Otter Valley.” The game’s 39-33 result is, in large part, a result of such an altered-tempo game, which, argued Ladue, made it difficult to produce scoring drives: “We just needed to finish more of our drives.”
Despite their record (2-12), the Cosmos are, nevertheless, making progress, as their efforts last week attest. Opined Ladue, “We are definitely improving everyday – that has been our goal from day one.” Now the Cosmos need a few more wins to build confidence for the future. “It is tough for the girls to come ready to go hard everyday when the gaps between wins get extended,” reflected Ladue, “but I have a good group of girls.”
Springfield’supcoming week doesn’t get much easier. The Cosmos travel to Woodstock on Monday and host third-place Mill River on Thursday.
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