McLean girls basketball loses at Langley

McLean’s girls varsity basketball team lost to the Langley Saxons by 20 points

Ana Paula Ibarraran, Reporter
January 12, 2020

Marina Qu
MOVING DOWN THE COURT—Sophomore Mia Fitzgerald dribbles to get the ball back on McLean's side of the court.

It’s Jan. 10 and there’s 30 minutes before the girls basketball game starts. Langley’s gym is already packed. Both schools have had a lot of anticipation for this event, which becomes increasingly clear as the energy in the room continues to get more and more hectic. It’s hard to tell who is going to come out on top, seeing as both teams were able to take home a win in their two match-ups last year.

As the girls come out to the court, the McLean student section starts cheering them on.

“That was my favorite part of the game because we just felt so supported by our school and there were way more McLean fans than Langley fans,” junior Kendall Jones said.

The anticipation for this game was enough to make those watching nervous, but it was even more intense for the girls on the court.

“Almost the entirety of both schools came, so that adds into the nerves because those people include classmates and friends that I see almost every day,” sophomore Mia Fitzgerald said.

Those nerves had to be shaken off quickly for the beginning of the game, and the Highlanders certainly put up a good fight. Going into the second half, however, the Highlanders had fallen behind. The fans continued to cheer on until the very end, but sadly McLean lost with the final score being 45-65.

However, there will be a chance for a redemption when the Highlanders face the Saxons again on Jan. 31, this time playing at home. The players are already setting for this next game.

“Our main goal for the next game is to just have better defense and make them score less than 40 points in the game,” Jones said.

This goal is very attainable for the team, but they know they are going to have to put in a lot of effort in practice for the next few weeks.

“In practice we are definitely going to work on keeping high energy throughout the game and rebounding,” Fitzgerald said.

Although the game did not end up going their way, the girls are still proud of their performance during the game.

“I think we played well considering the build up of our nerves,” Fitzgerald said. “Unfortunately our shots were failing more than Langley’s were.”

The girls varsity basketball team currently has a 7-5 record, and are hoping to add more wins in the future, one of those being their next meeting with Langley.