Boys varsity defeats Saint Thomas Aquinas to win the 2022 Sweetheart game.

Northwest improved to 13-2 after defeating the Saints, 59-50, Feb. 11.

Megan Yates, Editor-In-Chief

After losing to Blue Valley West, 73-70, in overtime on Feb. 8, boys varsity basketball team senior Joey Robinson said the team was hungry for a win. 

“We lost a tough one Tuesday, and as a team, we were looking forward to winning and getting back on track for the [rest] of the season,” Robinson said. 

Head coach Aaron Ihm added to Robinson’s point and said watching the film of their previous games helped the team prepare for Aquinas. 

 “Once we looked at that film, [we saw that] defensively there are so many things we could have done better,” Ihm said. “So we made a couple of adjustments and said, ‘hey, great teams bounce back.'”

The Huskies came out strong to start the game and led the Saints 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. 

Aquinas knocked down several shots in the second quarter to put them ahead of BVNW by a score of 28-23, going into halftime. 

During halftime, seniors Aly Hofmann and Sebastian Meriano were crowned Sweetheart Queen and King. 

At halftime, Ihm said he told his team to remain calm.

“I said ‘nobody is panicking,’ [STA] shot as well as anybody has shot against us, and sometimes teams just make great plays,” Ihm said. 

In terms of the adjustments they made, Ihm said the team changed a part of their defense in the second half and took care of the ball more on the offensive side. 

“We threw a little different trap at them in the second half that made them think a little more. Then our guys just started making plays and getting more comfortable,” Ihm said.  

The Huskies took the lead by the end of the third quarter, leading the Saints, 40-36. Northwest would go on to defeat Aquinas, 59-50. 

Beating Aquinas, Robinson said, will help the team get back on track for the remainder of their season. 

“[The win] shows us what we do well and [what are] our strengths [are]. We will base our game off of those,” Robinson said. 

The Huskies take on Center High School today at 1:30 p.m. at Blue Valley Northwest.