The Lady Trojans will be at Western on Thursday at 5 p.m. The team (1-7 overall, 0-2 Sunset League) had a chance to start the new year off with two wins this week. They played Cheyenne (4-6, 2-1) at home on Tuesday night, but that game was past deadline.
Trojans Coach Jennifer Hagstrom knows to win games she will have to find a way to get her shooters in the game. She hopes to start the new year off by beating Cheyenne.
She knew going into Tuesday’s game that Cheyenne would challenge her team with their size.
“Cheyenne is pretty big and they are like the biggest team in the conference,” Hagstrom said prior to the game. “They are huge. They have Bria Buchanan, a 6-foot-0 senior who is the best player on the team. She is strong and tall and likes to play on the wing.”
Hagstrom said her team has had some competitive games in the past with the Desert Shields. “We split with them last year,” she said.” We are looking forward to having them come in on Tuesday.”
Against both Cheyenne and Western the coach said her team will have to take care of the ball. For Thursday night she knows she can’t look past Western. Last year the Trojans split Western also.
To keep her team sharp over the holidays she had her girls practicing.
“We had five practices over the break,” she said. “The kids got 400 shots in and about 100 free throws. We had some good practices.”
Hagstrom was worried about the girls losing some of their endurance.
“The biggest thing about this break is the conditioning. I am concerned about the kids that missed practice,” she said.
Some players that should see more playing time are C’mone Wray-Ball, Alyssa Begin and Helen Vann. Over the break they had some good practices. These girls are some of the newest girls with size to come to the team. All three are about 5-foot-11 forwards.
“I think all three have adjusted well to the speed of the game,” the coach said. “They also have a better understanding of the things we do at practice and the things we want to do. They have done a good job and worked really hard and are progressing.”
For the Trojans, this week will be a big chance to turn things around.
“We have the raw talent and the ability and sometimes I just think it is a mental thing with this team,” the coach said.
The Trojans boys team is also looking for their first league win this year. They will be at Western at 6:30 p.m.
Beatty Basketball
Both teams will be at home this Saturday for league action against Indian Springs. Action starts at 11:30 a.m. This will be the Lady Hornets’ (2-0 overall) first league game. The Thunderbirds (0-9) are looking for their first win of the season. The boys team (1-1) will also be playing their first league game.
The Indian Springs boys team (0-6) is also looking for their first win of the season.