Bobcats Fall to Knights

The Madison Bobcats girls varsity basketball team was defeated by the Hillcrest Knights Thursday evening 47-33 in a defensive battle. The Bobcats struggled to move the ball around the solid Hillcrest defense, and the majority of Madison’s points came from great plays from individual players, rather than an impressive play from the team as a whole. 

This style of play worked at the beginning, as Madison came out hard at the start of the game. They took the lead and held it during the entirety of the first quarter. The Bobcats were playing a 2-3 zone defense, while the Knights were playing a tighter, man to man coverage. The Hillcrest defense struggled to find their groove during the first quarter, but their offense was already beginning to show their very impressive ball movement. Another important factor during this first quarter, was the foul count. While Madison only had two fouls, the Knights had seven. To end the first quarter, Sid Parker of the Bobcats made an impressive steal and kept Madison in the lead over Hillcrest 14-10

Hillcrest’s offense continued to strengthen during the second quarter, scoring 14 points. Throughout the first half, the Knight’s pressed the Bobcats on and off, trying to catch them off guard. Madison struggled to contain Hillcrest senior shooting guard, Trinity Larsen, and she was making them pay with her shooting skills. On offense the Bobcats were moving the ball inside and outside, but the ball movement mostly resulted in several turnovers that the Knights turned around and capitalized on. Towards the end of the second quarter, Hillcrest switched the momentum by taking the lead for the first time, ending the half 24-22. 

The third quarter was a very important time for both teams. The score was back and forth for most of the quarter. Both teams were fighting for the lead, however Hillcrest came out on top. The Bobcats were doing well on defense, with several steals and a block, but on offense, they continued to have problems with more turnovers and missed foul shots. Grace Dow said, “around the middle of the third quarter we started to slow down and lose momentum.” She continued on to say, “We could’ve had better body language and been more positive with each other.” She believes that if they had, the energy of the game would’ve been much better. Madison was down 35-30 heading into the fourth quarter. 

During the final quarter of the game, Hillcrest took control. They gained even more momentum and their offense was on a roll. Madison couldn’t guard Trinity Larsen and she played a key role in the Knight’s offense. The Bobcats also struggled to get rebounds, and Hillcrest went on a seven point run, securing their victory. Dow expressed that in order to move on from this game and prepare for the next, Madison needs to, “focus on the things we did well on in the last game, and learn from our mistakes so that they won’t happen again.” Madison will face Thunder Ridge Saturday, January 18, on the road.