On a night when the Huskies opened the game with arguably their best quarter of the season, they found themselves in a close game during the third quarter against Blue Valley North. Throughout the season, the Huskies have struggled coming out of the half; this game was no different.

With 1:41 left in the third quarter, the Mustangs converted on a shot which gave them a 35-33 lead over the Huskies. With the momentum on their side, Blue Valley North was able to cap off a 23-2 run to end the third quarter.

Along with few shots falling for BVNW, Junior guard Haley Shin said the Huskies had problems defensively that led to the Mustangs dominance in the third quarter.

“I think it was both their ability to score and then our defense,” Shin said. “They outplayed us.”

Despite losing the lead during the third quarter, the Huskies still were very much in the game as they were only down 39-33 to the Mustangs. However, Blue Valley North was able to continue their offensive success in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies would go on to fall to the Mustangs, 54-36, due to a 38-5 second half in favor of Blue Valley North.

Although BVNW saw trouble in the second half, their first quarter was as good as any they have had all year. Offensively, nearly every shot was falling for the Huskies in the first quarter; this was largely because senior Kate Kaufman, who had 3 assists in the first quarter, and the rest of the team being able to move the ball around to find an open shot. This, along with their defense and rebounding ability, gave BVNW a 25-2 lead over BVN at the end of the first quarter.

“I think the first quarter was really strong,” Shin, who finished with a season-high 9 points said. “We came out running that if we continued that, we would have won the game.”

Although the Huskies had a sizable lead going into halftime, the second quarter was when BVNW started to struggle. The Huskies were unable to make shots, and the defense started allowing open shots for the Mustangs.

Despite playing potentially their best quarter of the season, BVNW falls to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in league play. The Huskies will start out 2018 against Shawnee Mission North on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at BVNW.