“Dribble drive,” drills and defense are all areas the Lady Dawgs have been working on so far this season.
The girls’ basketball season kicked off with a winning game. Their first scrimmage was on Nov. 23 followed by another on Nov. 30. Now that the season has started, the girls are working hard to reach their goals of making playoffs.
In a scrimmage against Ellwood City on Dec. 3, the girls won all quarters that were played.
“We were practicing hard, and having scrimmages to prepare us for our first [section] game,” Sophomore Deanna Drobka said.
According to Sophomore Courtney Susan, over Thanksgiving break, the athletes played in a game against Ellwood City, and they did well.
The junior varsity team tied in a game against New Brighton on Dec. 6, with a final score of 19-19. The varsity team won against New Brighton with a final score of 45-17.
Freedom faced Rochester the following day, with a final score of 40-25, Freedom.
After this game, Senior Joanne Barlamas and Junior Casey Spieler were both selected for the All Tournament Team.
The girls have been positive about the upcoming season.
“I am happy with the start of the season. I think we are doing really well so far. We have been working really hard in practice, and practice is paying off,” Freshman Alexa Schwab said.
“I feel like if we continue that hard work throughout the season, we will be a more successful team,” Susan said.
At practices the girls prepare by playing in game-like situations. The team goes over plays and works both offensively and defensively, “then break into intersquad scrimmages,” Head Coach John Kaercher said.
Another aspect of practice is working on shooting drills and fine tuning their skills. This season, the girls work on a new technique called “dribble drive.” The play requires the offense to be constantly moving and looking for open shots. It also creates mismatches against the team’s opponents to provide better scoring opportunities. Mismatches isolate a selected player to empty out an area of the court so another player on the team has an advantage to score.
“All teams in our section are our rivals. If I had to pick the top rival, it would be Avonworth for the simple reason that a former coach from Freedom is on their coaching staff,” Kaercher said.