Struthers girls’ basketball team played against the Bulldogs at Poland on Saturday, December 4.
This was one of the first conference games in the NE8 that determines what seed the teams are in.
This was the second conference game for Struthers and their first time this year playing against the rival Bulldogs. Struthers won 43-49, but it was a challenging and close game the entire time. By the end of the fourth quarter, Struthers was losing until Katelyn Kimble hit a game determining three that put the Cats back in the game and led to their ultimate win. Gianna Martin, Ava Croyle, Skylar Tusin, My Liyah Law were all over the backboards getting rebounds and contributing to Struthers winning score.
Junior point guard, Natalie Wolikow, acknowledges the hardships of playing the Bulldogs.
“Poland is always a challenge because they are our school rivals. They are athletic and have some good players which creates an intense competition every time we play them,” says Wolikow.
The bench, coaches and fans were on their seats cheering the entire time. The coaches were positive influences for helping Struthers stay in the game the entire time.
Struthers point guard attributes the team’s success.
“After losing by one to Poland last year in the last second of the game, beating them this year and being the first team in the NE8 to ever beat Poland at home really helped our confidence for the following games. It really brought out the best in us,”says Wolikow.
This wasn’t just a big game for Struthers because they won but because they really came together as a team. Everyone was working together, talking and having good communication on the court. Fans and viewers could tell the team was having a good time playing together and that influenced the outcome for Struthers.
While the game was a big success, Struthers isn’t done yet.
“I believe our team needs to work on giving our all the entire game. There can’t be times where we don’t put in effort because we’re tired or because they scored, we need to give 110% effort the entire game,” states Wolikow.
Struthers next game will be January 23 at home against South Range.
