Madison Girls Varsity Basketball Team has a Tough Loss to Thunder Ridge

By: Taylor Stucki
The Madison Bobcats Varsity Girls’ basketball team had a tough battle ahead of them
when facing the undefeated, Thunder Ridge Titans. The Bobcats had the home game advantage
and they took it to the next level. All the students that came to the game got a free lightstick and
a shirt! Though they had valiant efforts and a rallying student section, the Madison Bobcats fell
short, losing to the Thunder Ridge Titans, 53-37.
The Bobcats started off strong in the first quarter. The senior, Whitney Mackenzie quickly
scored 5 points, and the junior, Roxie Backstien scored a jumper. Closing in on the lead the
Titans had created. One big threat to the Madison Bobcats’ win was Amber Caldwell. She proved
to be an asset to Thunder Ridge after scoring 7 of their 8 points. By the end of the exciting first
quarter, the score was 8-7, with Thunder Ridge having a slight lead over the Madison Bobcats.
Not to mention that Charli Cook was in foul trouble from the very start of the game. Four
minutes in, Cook had gotten back-to-back fouls. Cook then fouled again at the beginning of the
second quarter, resulting in her sitting out for the rest of the quarter. The second quarter was
slow, and there was an obvious loss not having Cook in the game. Mackenzie and Mckenzie
Reynolds both scored once again, adding four more points to the Bobcat’s score. The Thunder
Ridge Titans pulled ahead from the Madison Bobcats, scoring 16 more points. 24-11, Thunder
Ridge up, was the score heading into halftime.
Mackenzie said, “We kept trying our best even when we were losing! We didn’t get
frustrated with ourselves and give up.”
This was very important to the Bobcats, their confident attitude was definitely noticeable
as they came in for the second half of the game. Cook came back to the third quarter powerful.
She sank two 3’s and was a tough defender. Even though the stretch in between both scores was
growing, Madison was able to score 9 points. This made the score at the end of the third quarter,
36-20. The fourth quarter was fast-paced and there were a lot of points scored on both sides.
Madison and Thunder Ridge both scored a total of 17 points during the final quarter. Ending the
game with a score of 53-37. Thunder Ridge won the game by 16 points. By the end of the game,
Cook and Mackenzie had each scored 12 points. Making them the highest scorers on the
Bobcats. Even though this was a tough loss, the Madison Bobcats learned valuable lessons that
will help them in future games, and continue to help them get better.
Mackenzie said, “We learned that we have the potential to be great! We learned that if we
will focus and dial in to make our layups and free throws, as well as to get a few more rebounds
we can do well and win more games.”