The Washington girls’ basketball team’s 2013-14 campaign got off to a bumpy start on Tuesday as it fell 65-35 to D.H. Conley in its season opener.
Turnovers plagued the Pam Pack from the start as it fell behind early and never caught up to the Vikings.
“I was disappointed in our lack of offensive execution,” Washington coach Allison Jones said. “We turned the ball over way too many times. We were just trying to force things that weren’t there offensively, and that resulted in a lot of easy baskets at the other end of the floor for Conley.”
Shooting guard Sheema Blount paced the Pack with a team-high 12 points.
“Sheema worked hard out there tonight,” Jones said.
Washington got three first-quarter points from Kiara Smith and Blount, to stay within striking distance of the Vikings, ending the quarter down 15-6.
“We made some unforced errors early on and I think our confidence dropped,” Jones said. “And then it kind of snowballed on us.”
In the second quarter D.H. Conley took a commanding lead thanks to a 20-4 run that put the Vikings ahead 35-10 at halftime.
“They applied a fullcourt press and we did not handle that pressure well at all,” Jones said. “Sometimes our guards didn’t make enough passes and sometimes they made too many.
“We just didn’t really make good decisions with the ball tonight. Hopefully, with more time and experience we can improve on that.”
The Pam Pack frontcourt, which had some positive moments in the preseason, struggled against quality Conley forwards.
“I felt like for the first quarter or so we played pretty physical in the post. Then we kind of faded,” Jones said. “We didn’t get to the free throw line that much, which is a sign that we got away from playing physical basketball. But, I know we will improve on that.”
Due to the Washington football’s run a state title, this Friday’s basketball game has been postponed, giving the girls a few extra days to practice before their next game on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
“We’re going to get back into the gym and refocus and make sure that our effort is at game speed for the entire practice,” Jones said. “It’s one game and it’s certainly a measuring stick that we are going to use to show what we need to work on, but it’s not indicative of the season. We still have a lot of basketball in front of us and I know the girls are going to respond well.”