Athletics

Game Summaries

JV Basketball, Winter 2009–2010

EWS 10–Stillwater 75

With only two weeks of basketball under their belts, the Jesters took to the court for their first contest of the season. Emma stayed with their opponent for the first few minutes of the game, but quickly fell behind. Pei Pei put our team on the board in the first quarter, while Zoe added her own basket in the second quarter. Sam added 3 points in the third quarter, while Alex had a basket, and Staci made a foul shot in the fourth quarter. Emma never gives up, and our team didn’t stop trying the entire game. The coaching staff has a lot to work on, but they know that the Jesters will improve throughout the season. The foundation has been laid, now the Jesters must place their bricks to build the wall. Emma returns to their home court tomorrow for a scrimmage against Rennselaer, and then it’s Thanksgiving Break. Emma continues their schedule on Wednesday, December 2, at home against Berlin. Go, Jesters!

EWS 22–Berlin 25

Emma played their second game of the season today with a tough Berlin team. After ten days off and only two practices, Emma started off slow, but battled until the last horn. Alex led the team in scoring with 8 points, while Pei Pei (3), Samme (3), Staci (2), Sam (2), and Kelsie (2), all contributed to scoring. The Jesters found themselves down 2–3 after the first quarter, but hung tough to be down 8-9 at the half. Sammie contributed a three-point basket in the second quarter to keep Emma in the game. With a few half-time adjustments and Emma playing solid defense, the Jesters led 18–13 after the third quarter. Although Berlin proved to be too tough to hold back, Emma was right in it until the last 45 seconds of the game. The Jesters have improved tremendously since their first game, and the coaches look forward to achieving their first win of the season. The team has two days of practice before two games early next week. Go, Jesters!

EWS 8–Hoosick Falls 55

Emma had a difficult game today with a very good opponent. Sammie, Sam, Alex, and Kelsie each contributed one basket. While there is still much work to be done, Emma showed glimpses of their potential as a team. Kelsie and Sam connected well on a few passes, while Sammie plays with a high level of energy. This was a tough game, and Emma will do her best to move past it tomorrow when we play Waterford.

EWS 28–Waterford 43

Emma rebounded from their loss yesterday to play a very competitive Waterford team. Emma played a very good first quarter, but trailed 8–14. Sammie scored all of the Jesters’ first quarter points. The team was connecting on their passes, making good cuts and playing solid defense. The second and third quarter saw Emma fall apart. Being outscored 13–5 in the second and 8–3 in the third, Emma found themselves in familiar territory. Trailing 35–16 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Jesters rallied. Holding their opponent to only 8 points in the quarter, Emma was able to regain control of the game. While they ran out of time to mount a full comeback, the Jesters scored 12 fourth-quarter points. Samantha, Sammie, and Alex all contributed to the scoring. Sammie led the team with 16 points. In the fourth quarter Emma executed their plays, had good ball movement, and found the open player many times. This glimpse of potential should help the team rally for their game on Monday with Berlin. Go, Jesters!

EWS 19–Berlin 36

Emma traveled to take on league opponent Berlin. Emma started off the game by winning the tip-off, and Erin scored a quick 2 points. The Jesters began the game with a good defensive effort, but still trailed 2–8 at the end of the first quarter. Behind four points from Alex in the second quarter, Emma trailed 8–12 at the half. Everyone was trying their best, but Berlin proved to be too tough on their home court and outscored Emma 13–3 in the third quarter. Trailing 26–11 at the end of the third quarter, Emma found a spark with four substitutions to start the fourth quarter. The Jesters would score 10 points in the final period, but it just wasn’t enough as Berlin pulled away with 10 points of their own. Emma returns to practice for three days, then will enjoy winter break before playing Waterford on January 13. Go, Jesters!

EWS 17–Germantown 31

Emma played their first game today since returning from winter break. Traveling to Germantown to take on a tough league opponent, the Jesters came ready to play. Opening with a quick basket, Emma found themselves in the lead 2–0. With Alex leading the team with 5 first-quarter points and Wallis contributing two of her own, Emma found themselves trailing 10–7 after the first quarter. While only scoring two second-quarter points, the Jesters trailed 14–9 at the half. Emma could have easily been in the lead after drawing 11 first-half fouls from their opponent, the team left 8 points on the court by not making foul shots. Although she found herself in foul trouble for most of the second quarter, Pei Pei recorded numerous blocks throughout the game.

With their best first half of the season, Emma was ready to get back to work after the halftime break. But Germantown proved to be too tough for the Jesters. Although the team needed to limit their mistakes and turnovers, the Jesters proved they were not going to give up easily. The team did their best to contain their opponent, but with too many mistakes and poor ball handling, Emma found themselves giving up 9 third-quarter points. Sam and Alex contributed 2 points each for their team, but Emma trailed 23–13 at the end of the third quarter. Pei Pei added 4 fourth-quarter points to go with numerous blocks, but giving up 8 fourth-quarter points, Germantown finished with 31 points.

Emma improved tremendously since their last game, and with continued hard work and perseverance, the team looks forward to their first win of the season. The team will have two days of hard practice before traveling to Waterford on Wednesday for another tough game. Go, Jesters!

EWS 4–Waterford 44

Despite spirited defense, especially in the first quarter, Emma Willard lost to Waterford. The score was 11-2 at the end of the first quarter, 25-2 at the end of the half, 35-2 at the end of the third quarter, and 44-4 at game’s end. All four points for EWS were scored by Alex Steck. Fighting against a disadvantage of both size and speed, Emma never gave up. Sam, Pei Pei, Kelsey, and Wallis were strong on the offensive and defensive boards for the Jesters, and while they were also aggressive in attacking the basket on offense, the ball just would not fall in the hoop for us. Alex was, once again, our main offensive threat, and she scored on 2 pretty jump shots made possible by her ability to cut and slash and open space for herself. Zoe, Erin, Karen, Staci, and Jennifer showed great hustle and heart on defense and worked equally hard on offense as we struggled to gain momentum. Liz showed great heart and hustle but was hampered by a sprained ankle. On defense we played a mix of full court and half court man-to-man zone defenses, but Waterford was simply too strong both posting up inside and shooting from outside. The coaches are proud of the Jesters' heart and unwillingness to give up. We look forward to our next game with Berlin on January 26.

EWS 19–Berlin 36

Emma traveled to Berlin for the second time this season. While the Jetsers had just completed a great practice on Monday, their opponent proved to be too tough. Our defense had a few holes, but it was much improved from the last two games. They did a good job of collapsing on their opponent when the ball was in the lane. Open looks and immediate put-backs on the offensive end were occurring, but the Jesters couldn’t get the ball to drop through the hoop in the first quarter. However, the Jesters went on a late second quarter run to pull within eight points at the half. The third quarter was back and forth, but Emma could not get any closer than six points. While using three- and four-player substitutions, each player saw time on the court, and it spurred hustle and intensity from everyone. The Jesters never gave up. Alex led the team with 7 points. Sammie and Staci each contributed 4, while Pei Pei and Kelsie each had 2 points. Emma returns home tomorrow for practice before their away game on Thursday, their last away game of the 2009–2010 season. Go, Jesters.

EWS 8–Hoosac 21

Emma played the Hoosac School in their final road game of the 2009–2010 season. Without Alex, Jen, and Liz playing because of injuries, Emma dressed nine players for the game. While Emma found themselves with plenty of opportunities to score and open looks at the net, the Jesters could not get the ball to fall through the hoop. The team wasn’t used to playing in front of a boisterous crowd, and they had trouble focusing. With all of these difficulties, Emma hung tough, never giving up. They scored 8 points late in the second half, but ran out of time to stage their come back. The Jesters will enjoy their weekend off, have a week of practice, and then take to their home court on February 11 for their final game of the season.

EWS 15–Germantown 17

In their final game of the season, the Emma Willard JV Jesters lost a hard-fought contest. Down at the half 8-4, Emma fought back with pressure defense and strong rebounding, along with some key shots by Pei Pei and Alex, to come within one point, 12-11, by the end of the third period. In a game that literally went down to the wire, Emma kept fighting hard right until the end and simply came up one basket short. The intensity, poise, and maturity evidenced by the team in this contest is a testament to their hard work and progress this season. While our rebounding was exceptionally strong, because of the tremendous work of Wallis, Sam, and Kelsey, the intensity of our defense, led by the hustle of Staci, Zoe, Erin, Sammie, Karen, and Jennifer, was higher than in any of our previous games, and our rebounding and defensive efforts were at a high level throughout the game. On offense, our players made smart decisions, drove well to the basket, got to the foul line a number of times, and made some key shots. The coaches could not be more proud of this team’s efforts, character, and growth during this season!