Huskies fall to Thunder on Senior Night, 37-33
Throughout the game, BVNW trailed St. James and could never take the lead. Junior guard Haley Shin finished with 13 points and 3 rebounds.
February 24, 2018
The Huskies were in striking distance toward the end of the game on Senior Night against the St. James Thunder. In Friday Night’s matchup, BVNW had trailed the whole game, but it would be a junior who would step up.
With just around 5 minutes remaining in the game, BVNW Head Coach Brian Bubalo subbed out all the seniors, replacing them with a mix of sophomores and juniors. Junior guard Haley Shin, who led the Huskies in scoring with 13 points, would do what she could to help the seniors pick up a win on their night.
When Shin entered the game, the Huskies were trailing, 31-26. In no time, Shin found herself at the free-throw line. Shin converted on both of her free throws to cut the Thunder’s lead to 31-28.
After knocking down a pair of free throws, Shin drove the lane and dumped it off to sophomore Grace Coble for an open layup. Though they did not lead the game all night, the Huskies looked like they were mounting a fourth quarter comeback.
With a few minutes remaining in the game, Bubalo replaced the lineup of sophomores and juniors, a lineup they have not used much this season, with all five seniors. Shin said the team did all they could to help the seniors win.
“We did pretty well given that we don’t normally have that lineup,” Shin said. “I think we just really wanted to win it for our seniors, so we all worked together and played really hard.”
After playing the seniors a lot throughout the game, Bubalo said his main reason for subbing in large numbers was to give the seniors a break before the final stretch of the game.
“We had a couple times where we subbed two groups completely, five for five, and actually the juniors and sophomores did a nice job of getting us back in the game,” Bubalo said. “They made a couple of shots. They got a couple of steals.”
With the starters back in the game, BVNW would try to capitalize on the position the sophomores and juniors put them in.
The Huskies were able to pick up steals by pressing toward the end of the game, but struggled finishing on offense.
“The seniors got back in there… and we got some steals, but we just couldn’t make the key shot,” Bubalo said.
After going down 35-30 with a minute remaining, senior Kate Kaufman converted on an and-one after getting fouled while driving the lane. This cut the St. James lead to 35-33.
After Kaufman’s bucket, the Huskies had to start fouling and hope the Thunder would miss, so they could get the ball back with a chance to win. St. James did just that as they were unable to make most of their free throws down the stretch, but BVNW was unable to get anything going offensively which led to a 37-33 loss for the girls varsity basketball game on Senior Night.
In the first three quarters of the game, in was Shin that stole the show. In the first half, Shin converted on a couple of shots and also got to the line where she made several free throws. Shin would finish the first half with 9 points.
Throughout the first half, the Huskies trailed, but were always within striking distance of the Thunder. Senior guard Bridget Harrison capped of the first half with a step-back 3-pointer to make it a 17-16 game going into half.
Though the seniors would go on to lose on their night, Bubalo said he could not be more proud with the effort they have put forth throughout the years.
“They’ve been a pleasure to coach,” Bubalo said. “They’ve been leaders for our team, and it was tough to end the season with a loss, but I thought throughout the game and throughout the year they’ve always played hard.”
Following the game, the five Husky seniors, Bridget Harrison, Evan Bail, Kate Kaufman, Sarah Martin and Becky Delgado, were honored for their work on their Senior Night
The Huskies move to 7-13 on the season after the loss. The Huskies next game will be in sub-state.
