The postseason began for the girls basketball team on Tuesday, when they faced off against George Washington High School in the first round of the CHSSA state playoffs. The girls secured a convincing win with a score of 53-31. The Wizards are ranked fifth in the tournament, while the George Washington Patriots came in ranked 32nd.
The team was led in scoring by Reyleigh Hess (11), who dropped 13 in the win. The Wizards were truly led by their defensive effort on Tuesday though, holding George Washington to 31 points. This is not a rarity, as playing through their defense is something that this team traditionally does. Starting forward Gracie Worsley (09) said after the win, “Our defense really led us. When our defense is good it translates to offense.”
Head coach Karin Nicholls has preached this importance of defense to the team all year.
The Wizards average 13.4 steals per game, and the defense thrives on forcing turnovers. George Washington struggled to even get shots up in the game, as the press defense was ran effectively in the win. Lots of the defensive play style for the wizards is based on just making everything difficult on opponents, bringing double teams and trapping. The team also plays at a fast pace and gets transition points off these turnovers effectively.
On the offensive end, the team made a point to attack the rim, where a majority of their points came from. Four of the five Wizards starters are listed at 5 feet 10 inches or taller, so more often than not they have a size advantage, and they definitely utilized it in Tuesday’s win. “We got the jump on them and got inside on them, then our defense carried us,” Hess said.
Despite the success in the game, Nicholls still said afterward, “There’s still some things we have to work on.”
Throughout the season, the team’s youth has been a storyline, as there are no seniors on this year’s roster. Both Worsley and Nola Greenwald (09) start for the team as freshmen. With a young team like this they have had some growing points, but, most importantly, Nicholls said, “Effort is never anything I have to question.”
With the team so young, the team has grown and learned as the year has gone on. Both Hess and Brooklyn Jiricek (11) have stepped up as not only the oldest players on the team, but also the only remaining rotational players from last year’s team. Hess leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG, also adding three steals per game.
The team now looks ahead to its Sweet 16 matchup against Littleton, who defeated Skyline in their first-round game. That game will take place at WHS at 6 p.m. Littleton is the 21st-ranked team in the bracket. If the Wizards win, they will move onto the Great 8, which takes place at the Denver coliseum, beginning March 1.
