“I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN, I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN,…” chanted the varsity boys basketball team as they watched the girls basketball team fight hard against Oakridge last night.  The beginning of what was debatably the “best game the girls varsity team has played this season” started out really slow.  How slow? Well, the scoreboard reflected more of what a baseball game’s score should be throughout the first two periods.  Whatever Coach Reeves said during halftime must have lit a fire under the girls because by the end of the 4th All Saints and Oakridge were tied 18-18.  With overtime looming, it was time for the girls to get their act together. The next 4 minutes consisted of an abundance of fouls, including Oakridge’s coach receiving a technical, and multiple timeouts to talk through the upcoming, potentially game winning play.  Sadly, the LadySaints came out on the bottom with a 22-21 loss to Oakridge; however, despite the loss, Junior #13 Jernee Goods proved she came to play by scoring over half of the Saints’ overall points. (14 of 21)

Next up were the varsity boys.  Coming off a home loss to Greenhill it was obvious the Saints were not going to go down without a fight.  As the Saints took the gym Coach Adams knew he needed to give the boys one last incentive to insure a W in the books, so he promised the team IF they make it to the playoffs he WILL dye his hair BLONDE (any chance to embarrass a coach is always worth it in a players mind). The Saints didn’t come out looking too strong in the 1st period.  Oakridge was slayin’ 3s, only 3s, while the Saints did their best to make up for the original lack of enthusiasm by keeping the game tied 12-12 at the end of the 1st.  Then the 2nd period started the trend of the game: technicals.  Through the craziness of the referee’s calls the Saints managed to go into the 2nd half with a 25-34 lead over Oakridge.  Besides the technicals, period 3 was more or less a repeat of the 2nd.  The Saints managed to hold their lead and get into the 4th unscathed.  The 4th period brought some unnecessary excitement.  Oakridge managed to get a player sent to the bench due to an untucked shirt, and Saints player Tanner Rizenbergs received a technical AND was “thrown out” of the game for harmless smack talk to an Oakridge player.  With hardly any time left on the clock somehow both teams received a technical at the same time.  Thankfully, those free-throws did not change the outcome of the game.  The Saints brought home the win with a 63-75 victory over Oakridge.  The win proves the young varsity boys team is capable of protecting the family.

Be sure to catch the Saints play in their next game at Cistercian this Friday, January 23rd and the LadySaints as they take on the Trojans at Trinity Valley School on January 27th!  Go Saints!