Before a week-long break from games, No. 2 Sequoyah girls basketball started a gauntlet of matches.
Starting with the win over the No. 8-ranked Keys Lady Cougars, Tuesday, Dec. 16, SHS is set for eight straight against tough opponents. SHS continued its tough stretch of ranked reams, Thursday, Dec. 18, with another hard-fought win over the No. 5 Kingston Lady Redskins.
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“Our next eight games are against ranked teams, so it’s going to be a tough stretch,” Brown said. “I think our schedule is going to prepare us for the postseason.”
SHS has picked up two straight 10-point wins over ranked teams, but it hasn’t always been easy for the Lady Indians.
“I’m a firm believer that you play people who are good on purpose to prepare your team, and that’s kind of one of the reasons we schedule Kingston,” Brown said. “I know they feel the same way about coming here and playing this game, too. They know what they’re getting into, playing a couple of good teams in a row on back-to-back nights, so I can respect them a lot for making that drive and doing that.”
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Sequoyah’s Kya Poafpybitty gets a paint basket vs. Kingston at Northeastern State University.
In the showdown with Kingston at Northeastern State University, SHS got off to an OK start, had a strong second quarter and then struggled in the third quarter.
“I thought we played a really good second quarter and a decent fourth quarter,” Brown said. “I thought the other two quarters, we didn’t do very well, especially the third quarter. We have to come out of the locker room, and we did not. You know, I think part of that was being in foul trouble and having a different kind of rotation in there. We weren’t settled. We forced a lot of tough situations that didn’t need to happen, but we found a way to get it done in the end.”
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Lady Indians got things back on track to retake the lead and a 56-45 win over the Lady Redskins.
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In that final quarter, Brown saw his team go back to the fundamentals to pick up the win.
“We were doing what we’re supposed to, we were doing what we practiced,” Brown said. “You know, we actually executed an offense in the second quarter. We communicated on defense in the second quarter, and then we didn’t come out of the locker room. We’re lucky to be out of here with a win.”
After facing off with the Lady Cougars to start the week, Brown thought SHS didn’t have its best start vs. the No. 5-ranked team.
“We hit shots;I wouldn’t say we executed great,” Brown said. “We played tired in the second half. I think it was a big emotional game Tuesday. We had a little bit of a hangover. As I said, we’re lucky to get out of here, but anytime you can get a win against the ranked team, you take it and go on.”
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Things don’t get any easier for the Lady Indians. While there are no games because of Christmas break, the Lady Indians will be back in action soon, taking part in the Tournament of Champions in Tulsa at the BOK Center.
The Lady Indians will see top teams ranked from 6A down to A starting Monday, Dec. 29.
“I think it’s a learning opportunity,” Brown said. “I think you want to schedule tough opponents. There are a lot of people out there who don’t. A lot of people are more concerned about, hey, what’s our record right now, instead of trying to get prepared for the postseason. Playing ranked opponents is the only way to prepare yourself for the playoffs.”
