On February 4, at Loy Norrix High School, the Loy Norrix women’s junior varsity basketball team went up against Grand Rapids Union High School’s JV team. After a grueling first half, the team was only down by two with a score of 17 points to Grand Rapids’ 19. However the girls managed to comeback and win the game with a final score of 37-28.

“Going into the game I felt confident,” sophomore Vicky McGowan said. McGowan is the starting point guard for the JV team and scored 8 points in Tuesday’s game.

As the game went on, tensions ran high between the two teams. McGowin recalled a lot of negative talk from the Grand Rapids team. This puts JV Coach Tyree Burton in a tough position with the girls.

“Mistakes are gonna happen in a game,” Burton explained, “when things get tight, players tend to press the issue and do too much. That’s where coaching really comes into play, my job is to remind them to stick to the game plan and trust each other.”

Even though at halftime the Lady Knights were down, Coach Burton felt content and comfortable with the score, but was ready to discuss their mistakes in the locker room and figure out ways to make the necessary adjustments.

“I felt iffy during the game,” McGowan said but as they began to come back and start scoring, she began to feel more confident.

The game was tough, one with plenty of penalties and the scores never reached a difference of more than nine points, but the JV team was able to pull through with the win. 

“Winning is never easy, but it is nice. Good, bad, or ugly a win is a win,” Coach Burton continued “I am more so proud of the girls for continuing to fight and push through adversity.”