Girls’, boys’ basketball falls to Pittsburg at WPA game
Seniors Jackie Kennard and Noah Wilson are crowned queen and king for the WPA dance at the game on Jan 27.
The De Soto High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams both fell to Pittsburg High School on Jan. 27 at the Women Pay All game.
The girls led the game throughout the first half, with a score of 15-9 at the end of the half. However, the score was close throughout, with both teams battling through much of the fourth quarter. The girls came up short with a score of 39-34. Senior Julia Johnson led the team with 13 points, followed by seniors Tanith Beal and Sydney Jones with nine and six points, respectively, and junior Mariah Grizzle with six points.
“Overall I thought we did a good job early in the game defensively keeping a good offensive team to only 9 points in the first half. Our team defense was solid and we did a nice job limiting easy baskets and second chance opportunities,” said head coach Ryan Robie. “We’ve got to focus on playing for a full 32 minutes. I thought we played well enough to win for about 24-25 minutes but lost focus during a couple stretches with poor defensive effort and costly turnovers.”
In between the girls’ and boys’ games, the DHS Student Council held the coronation ceremony to crown the WPA king and queen. The student body voted seniors Sydney Jones and Shane Thompson runners-up, and crowned seniors Jackie Kennard and Noah Wilson as the WPA queen and king.
Despite a hard fought game, the boys were defeated by Pittsburg with a score of 44-11 at half, an overall score of 75-39. The team was led by junior Levi Hanson and sophomore Grant Noll, both with eight points, followed closely by junior Jared Baruth with six and seniors Alex Wilcox and Noah Wilson with five.
“I think it goes without saying that we didn’t play very well, but I thought we handled their full-court press very well and I think we played as a team,” said head coach Matt Rice. “We have to learn to compete at a higher level. Even when we are at a disadvantage we have to compete and battle each and every possession. We need more guys that want to make plays without the ball in their hands.”
The teams will face Baldwin High School at Baldwin on Jan. 31, and will return home on Feb. 3 for ‘Throwback Night’ against Spring Hill High School. The game is being organized by the Principal’s Council and will feature many games and prizes, as well as music throughout the decades. The game will be held in the Auxiliary Gym.
Both teams are looking forward to the next home game due to the “atmosphere” that the Auxiliary gym, or the ‘old’ gym, has.
“I tell our girls all the time that if we want fans to show up, keep winning. Our girls are currently 9-3 and I believe they have earned our fans support. We lost earlier in the season to Spring Hill, and we are looking to return the favor at home on Friday,” Robie said.
