SCRANTON, Pa.- When the season began, Bucks women's basketball had a program record of thirteen players on the roster. The belief was that if a player or two were to leave after the first semester, there would be enough bodies to maintain a bench so that players would be able to get some rest in any given game, and it worked well for them.
That is until they went on the road to play at Lackawanna College, and had only five players able to play. Two players were nursing injuries, and two had family issues. This was a major concern for Head Coach Andre Bright, as the team was overmatched in their first meeting with Lackawanna on December 6th at Centurion Gymnasium.
"My biggest fear was how we would handle any pressure that Lackawanna may have applied," Said Coach Bright. "That's been one of our biggest weaknesses all season. But they realized they didn't need to press us, and sat back in a zone and that gave us a chance to move the ball and get some shots up," he concluded.
Fatigue was also an issue. How to keep his players from getting exhausted running up and down the court was a major concern as well. "We were able to walk the ball up the floor after defensive rebounds, and after they scored," Coach Bright said. "Once we were in our offensive end of the floor, I would rotate one player and have that player stand at half court to catch their breath, and we would basically play 4-on-5 on offense."
The strategy worked, as it helped to keep a player back to defend against potential Lackawanna fast breaks.
In the end the Lady Centurions (0-14, 0-12) fell, 85-15 behind an 11 point performance by sophomore Kailie Mitchell (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem), to go along with two points from freshman Ellen Carney (Bristol, PA) and sophomore Sarah Dees (Morrisville, PA/St Hubert's) who scored her first two points of the season.
"We've spent this season looking for silver linings," said Coach Bright. "Sarah scoring her first points of the season is an excellent example of a silver lining that makes this season worth it."
The Lady Centurions take the court again on Saturday, January 19th in another road contest against Essex County College at 12:00 PM.
