February Odds and Ends

Kid is all smiles. 

Final basketball practice 

Final basketball game - Norwich Diocese Tournament

Emily played an amazing final basketball game on 2/29/20 and this layup was just one of many great plays she had that morning.

Foul shots were an issue for Emily in the second half of the season but in her final game, she went 4 for 6 from the free throw line, keeping her team in the game until the final minutes.

JPII Basketball Ends

Emily's regular season of middle school basketball ended this week.  She gave it her all in every game and really racked up the steals and rebounds as the season went on.  Although they came up 1 point short in their final home game (Emily's 3 point attempt with less than a second left on the clock hit the rim, circled around and then fell out of the basket which was a heartbreaker), they played better and better with every game. Emily played almost every minute of every game, sitting only when the game was way out of reach for them or when the other team got too chippy and it looked like they were trying to hurt her.  As a coach, it was really great to watch them grow as a team and to finish the season strong.

Final home game of the season. 

8th graders

JPII Basketball

Emily is having a great basketball season for JPII.  Although the team is struggling mightily, she is playing every minute of every game and absolutely loving it.  She's scored at least one three pointer in just about every game and the work that she is putting in at practice on foul shots is starting to pay off.  She loves to score but much more than that, she loves to play good defense - steals and blocking shots make her particularly happy!  Although she's not a very good technical basketball player, we are hoping that she is a good enough athlete to play for at least a year or two in high school.

February Frenzy

Over Presidents' Day Weekend, the JPII girls played in the February Frenzy, an annual basketball tournament run by a nearby Catholic school.  The girls won a stunner on Friday night, 10-8.  Emily scored all of the team's points in first half, including a half court shot as time expired at the half to put the team up 5-2 (I'm totally biased, but the place went absolutely wild. The entire JPII boys team had just arrived and saw the shot, which added to the excitement.)  They played a great defensive game - Emily played every minute and completely neutralized the other team's best player and the team was unable to pull ahead without that girl scoring any points.  On Sunday night, they played against a local travel team and it was tough going for our girls. Based on their record, however, they made it to the semi-final game on Monday afternoon and stayed close to another local travel team until the last 90 seconds of the game.  They left it all on the court and Emily again played every minute of the game, ending with 8 steals and 5 rebounds.  There is one game left in the season and I will really be sad to see it come to an end.

My girl loves to take the jump ball. 

Free throws are Emily's most difficult shot.  To put things into perspective, she's made more three pointers (3) this season than baskets from the free throw line.  And it's not for lack of effort.  She regularly gets to practice early to practice her free throws and practices them during water breaks, when everyone else is getting water and chatting.  She finally hit one over the weekend.

With the girls down by 15 on Sunday night, the coaches encouraged Emily to drive to the basket, rather than always looking to pass.  She had the perfect opportunity a few moments later.

More Basketball

Emily played a bunch of basketball games in late January and early February.  Among those, the only home game of the season for the girls.  They lost a nail biter, 6-5 (not a typo) - a complete heart breaker for Emily, who missed two layups during the game and was the one the coach turned to with four seconds left to take the (almost) mid-court shot for the win.  She was devestated when the game was over because she was unable to put forth her best game in front of a roaring crowd, including many of her classmates and good friends. She and the team rebounded the next night with a big win and a few days later, she played her best game of the season, a 25-20 loss in which she scored her first three pointer and had 9 points and 14 steals.  I never thought I would love watching her play another sport as much as I love watching her play soccer but this year, basketball has really inched its way up there.

Winning the jump ball. 

If just one of these steals had resulted in a layup, JPII would have won the game.  So much heart break for my girl that night. 

When your soccer besties and their parents surprise you by showing up at your only home basketball game...well, she was overwhelmed with the love from her friends.

Winning the jump ball.

Leftie layup.

Rebound, and then coast to coast for the layup. 

With the steal...