Girls Varsity Basketball vs Nordhoff

February 13, 2017

The Cate girls varsity basketball team finished off its season at Nordhoff on Thursday, February 9 by dropping a 57-39 score. Though the Rams did not bring home the win, they played one of their toughest games of the season.

It was Nordhoff’s senior night, and they were kind enough to recognize Cate’s two amazing captains and seniors, Amber Thiery ’17 and Morgan Prinz ’17 with a shoutout and a white flower. After that, the game began and Cate came out hard with an aggressive man-to-man defense. During the whole first quarter, the lead bounced back and forth between the Rams and Nordhoff. When the quarter ended, Nordhoff was up by one point.

As the game continued, Cate would go on a small run and get ahead, and then it was Nordhoff’s turn to get ahead. Cate let down just a little bit right before the second half; Nordhoff scored a few threes and easy baskets, and by halftime the score was Cate 22, Nordhoff 32.

During the second half, Cate chipped away at Nordhoff’s lead. A few fouls and turnovers made by Cate and a few three-point shots made by Nordhoff put the Rangers decidedly in the lead. The Rams pushed hard until the end of the game.

Amber Thiery ’17 and Morgan Prinz ’17 played a great game. “They have been incredibly inspirational and hard-working senior leaders, and their presence is going to be thoroughly missed,” said Cate Head Coach Amy Venditta.

Thiery had at least seven assists and scored seven points. She played both offense and defense with confidence, power, intelligence, and strength. Prinz pulled down at least eleven rebounds and scored five points. She played incredible defense and demonstrated some awesome moves under the basket. Maya Blattberg ’20 found the holes in Nordhoff’s defense and was aggressive under the basket. She finished with thirteen points.

Elle Smith ’19 played a great game as well and had to spend some time guarding Nordhoff’s best player, while finishing with six points. Piper Brooks ’20 played very well with confidence and composure beyond her years. Georgia Douglas ’19 was aggressive under the basket and was great at looking for her offense. They both scored four points each.

“We had an emotionally and physically challenging season. They are a young team and struggled to find their rhythm on the court and together as a team. But eventually they did find it, and have played the last few weeks of the season very well together, making some very impressive plays. It was a great season, and each player can feel proud of the work that she put in and the progress that she has made,” said Venditta.