December is the time most prepare for Christmas but the lady Pirates have been busy playing basketball. The Green River lady Pirates hosted the San Juan lady Broncos for a three game (freshman, junior varsity, varsity) series of basketball where the lady Broncos swept the lady Pirates but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some good basketball to be had.
The varsity squad started out strong on defense limiting the lady Broncos to four field goals in the first eight minutes but were limited themselves to two. During the second quarter the lady Pirates kept up the ‘in your. face’ defense and limited the Broncos to one less field goal while the Pirates added one more to take a slim lead into the locker room.
Whatever happened during the break wasn’t so good for the lady Pirates as the lady Broncos busted out nine field goals (two from long range) during the third quarter compared to two for the home squad. During the fourth quarter the Pirates got back to their stingy ways and held the Broncos giving the Pirates a chance to drain a few field goals for themselves. However, the hole dug during the third was too much to overcome, plus the fact that the Broncos made a few more baskets from the charity stripe.
The lady Pirates dropped a game that was within their grasp. With six minutes left in the final quarter they were down by three. With just over a minute remaining they were separated by six points – a deficit easily erased by stingy defense and quick accurate shooting – the gals wearing white provided some good defense but just couldn’t manage the hurry up offense and the game slipped away.
Feleisha Antillon repeated as the high point leader again scoring 12 followed closely by Sydney Thayn and Jamie Johnson with 11 each.
Afterwards, Coach Parsons praised the Pirates on their hustle play and hard defense.
Next the lady Pirates traveled to Duchesne for another three games with similar results. The lady Pirates only scored one field goal in each of the first two quarters. After the break the lady Pirates managed to find the bottom of the hoop and scored 12 points. The lady Eagles also knew where the bottom of the basket was and scored 21. It was the final quarter that was the bright spot for the lady Pirates. A will to not lie down and give up and battle hard to the end produced 13 points for the Pirates and only one field goal for the home team and a point from the free throw line. Again, Coach Parsons found the positive in the game and complemented his team on the fact that they finished strong going down the stretch. The next game up pitted the lady Tigers against the lady Pirates on their home floor but the outcome was never in question as the lady Tigers managed only eight points in the first half compared to 27 for the lady Pirates. During the second half the lady Pirates scored 27 to Tabiona’s 17. The focus on hard nosed, tough defense by the lady Pirates is producing some exciting basketball and setting a nice tone for region play to begin just before Christmas.
For the second time this season, the Pirates played the Grand County lady Red Devils. This time there was a different feel. This go around the game was played on the Pirates home floor but the pace of the game was more up tempo. Where during the last meeting between the two teams the lady Pirates held the lady Red Devils scoreless during the first and third quarters; this time the ladies in red put points on the board during each quarter, just not enough of them. The battle tested lady Pirates fired up their already tough defense and treated the fans to another great game of round ball.
The lady Pirates played at Altamont on Dec. 20 and hosted Navajo Mountain Dec. 22. Their first game after the break will be at Intermountain Christian Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.
Lady Pirates fight hard against San Juan
"Sydney Thayn battles for a rebound."