STORY AURORA HUTCHINGS | PHOTOGRAPHY NISSO SACHA

On Wednesday Feb. 22, the East Girls Basketball team had a valiant loss to Princeton’s Girls Basketball team with the end score being 69-25. The she-hawks fought hard but Princeton’s suffocating defense caused them a total of 13 turnovers at the East Gymnasium. 

East junior leader Madison French doesnt look at this game as a loss, but as more as a learning experience.

 “It wasn’t what we were hoping for but we all played hard,” French told Spark. “We learned a lot from this game.”

East Girls Varsity Coach Dan Wallace used a variety of lineups in an attempt to negate Princeton’s star quality. With three underclassmen on East’s starting lineup, this game tested the girls’ grit and determination to push through difficult circumstances.

“We coached some things differently to make sure we were healthy for the tournament,” Wallace told Spark. “We sat some kids a lot of times, played more minutes and tried to get some kids some learning experience.”

Princeton Girl’s head basketball coach De Davis really focuses on not only the physical training, but the mental and analytical aspect of the game. 

“I try to dissect what the other team does so I have a strategy towards that,” Davis told Spark. “In practice, we’re making it game-like and splitting it into quarters.” 

When the buzzer signified the ending of the first half, the scoreboard read 15-51. While some teams may have given up, East still had hope in their hearts. 

During the duration of the third quarter, East held the vikings to seven points. 

“I’m really proud of our kids,” Wallace says. “We know that we ran with some of the best teams in the city all year long, so strangely, I’m alright with [the loss].”