Casual observers of basketball may not be aware that there is room for two basketballs inside that orange ring ten feet above the court. Players, coaches and former players (and sports writers) are all aware of that, but not everyone is. Still, putting the ball inside the ring is not always the easiest task to perform. The ACGC girls basketball players can attest to that, as they had a difficult time accomplishing the task last night, making just 32% of their field goal attempts. That means for every one they made, two failed to go through the hoop. So how do we account for the fact that the Chargers defeated Madrid last night, 54-52, despite the less than stellar shooting performance?

The mystery is explained in the number of shot attempts each team had for the game. The Chargers attempted thirty more shots than the Tigers. ACGC attempted sixty six shots while Madrid had only thirty six attempts. How did that happen, you may ask?

First, the Chargers came up with numerous steals, particularly in the first half, which gave them more opportunities to shoot. Second, ACGC missed many "bunnies", or shot attempts very close to the basket--sometimes three bunnies in the same possession. Third, the local girls came up with a season high twenty five offensive rebounds (many as a result of those missed bunnies) that gave them additional shot attempts.

Additional factors that contributed to the win were the fact that ACGC connected on six three pointers last night, the highest game total for the season. Finally, (and this had to especially please the coaching staff and fans alike), the Chargers played unselfishly last night, often making the "extra pass" to a teammate who had a better shot than the passer. ACGC came up with sixteen assists last night, the second highest total for the season.

So despite the lass than flawless shooting performance, there were definitely bright spots last night, attested to by coach Baker. "One of the tings that most pleases me is the unselfishness that we play with. Jorja is improving game by game as our point guard. (The sophomore had eight assists last night.) Her ball handling and decision making keeps defenses on their toes. Kylie Young has busted out of her slump over the last two games and Kennedy continues her steady play."

The Young sisters both scored in double figures last night with Kylie going for 17 points and Kennedy turning in a double-double with 11 points and a whopping 13 rebounds to go along with 4 assists. Chloe Largent came up wth 8 rebounds and the younger Young snared 7. Jorja Hoover led the team in the assist category with 8. Genevieve Hoover led in thefts (steals) with 6. Free throw shooting continues to be an issue, with just 6 makes out of 12 attempts for 50%. By contrast Madrid connected on all ten of its free throws.

Coach Baker emphasized the importance of the next couple of games when he said, "The next two games are key leading up to the week when seedings are announced (the week of January 21). Those games could make the difference between getting a first round tournament game at home or not getting one."

The games Baker is referring are conference games at Pleasantville on Friday and on the local hardcourt next Tuesday versus Odgen. Both games are girl/boy doubleheaders and begin at 6 PM. The Chargers are now 7-6 on the season and are sitting in fourth place in the conference standings with a 5-4 record. Go Chargers!

Score by quarter:

ACGC 11 15 14 14--54

Madrid 9 14 14 5--42

Box score: REB

FG 3PT FT O-D AST STL TP

Fuller 1-4 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 2

Largent 2-10 0-0 1-2 4-4 0 0 5

JHoover 4-12 1-6 1-2 6-1 8 1 9

O'Brien 1-6 0-0 0-0 1-0 3 0 2

KYoung 6-13 3-4 2-4 6-1 0 5 17

Carrick 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

GHoover 2-7 2-4 2-4 1-0 1 6 8

KeYoung 5-13 0-2 1-2 4-9 4 3 11