“It’s possible to be proud of your performance, but not satisfied with the result,” Richard Montgomery varsity girls basketball coach Michael Oakes said. No other statement could be more true following the 46-55 defeat to Clarksburg High School on Monday night.
Promisingly, RM was much more competitive against a Clarksburg team who defeated the Rockets by 40 points in preseason. On the flipside, RM fell to 2-2 on the young season. Despite the best efforts from seniors Kimberly Stamets, Devon Goetz, and Linda Qiu, along with sophomore Melanie Osborne, the Rockets are left to look ahead to facing Northwest on Friday to return to winning ways.
RM jumped out to an immediate lead against Clarksburg with two three’s courtesy of Osborne and Stamets. The lead, as high as seven points for the Rockets in the first quarter, would be whittled down to only two points at half, 27-25.
“Their game is really fast,” Goetz said of Clarksburg, “but I think that, as a whole, we prepared well for that. We didn’t let their desire to run the ball really affect the way we wanted to play, because we also wanted to run the ball.” Goetz finished with 13 points, many of which came on dribble drive opportunities from pushing the tempo.
The second half lost the sharp shooting of the first for the Rockets, and the height advantage for Clarksburg was on display, as the Coyotes often had two or three shots in a single possession, while RM had to settle for one.
With four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Clarksburg took their first lead of the game, and quickly separated from RM. The high-intensity game led to turnovers from both teams, but as Clarksburg made their second-chance opportunities, RM could not catch up.
“We wanted it so bad in the first quarter, but when we had a lapse in the third quarter, it was disappointing not to keep our momentum going the whole 32 minutes,” Stamets said. “The team is proud of how we did, and how far we have come from the scrimmage” against Clarksburg. Stamets led the Rockets in scoring with 15 points.
“I think we were able to for the first half match the intensity, but we had a little bit of a lull in the third quarter, particularly with the rebounding and getting the 50-50 balls, and I think ultimately that was the difference,” Coach Oakes said.
Senior Linda Qiu contributed 7 points from off the bench on Monday night. “First, I think it was most important that the starters were able to have a really good start,” Qiu said. “That really contributed to the momentum, so along with that energy I was able to play off of that and play along with [the starters], and help show our true potential in the first half.”
Sophomore Melanie Osborne scored 7 points in the defeat, and her potential to be a leader was on display. “Melanie has been such a strong force on the court, as well as Linda and all of my teammates,” Stamets said. “Even my teammates on the bench. It’s the best bench I could ask for, and any one of them is ready to step up and contribute as well.”
Rebounding and eliminating turnovers will be the focal point for Coach Oakes and the Rockets as they prepare for Northwest on Friday. “A lot of our drills will focus on protecting the ball, and making smart passes,” Oakes said. “We take about making high-percentage passes that we can convert, instead of risking and forcing passes that aren’t there.”
Against a much improved Northwest team from last year, rebounding will be vital. Qiu, as well as senior Victoria Cruz-Faulk, will have to up their game against solid post players on Northwest. “I think whoever wins the rebounding in the Northwest game is most likely going to win the game,” Coach Oakes said.
