On Jan. 7, 2025, the Antioch Community High School girls varsity basketball team beat Lakes Community High School, giving them a record of 3-2 in conference. This was a tough win as the score came out to be 48-44, and the girls had to fight and work hard to be successful against their cross-town rivals.
Junior Jenna Williamson was happy with the outcome of the game and is proud that the team pulled through in the end to win. Williamson said that while the team did struggle a lot, in the end they gave it their all to beat the Eagles.
Williamson hopes to end the season with a winning streak and be able to advance far in regionals. By doing so, the team will need to be able to alter to different situations and styles of play to find success.
Similarly, junior Heidi Rathmann thought of the game as quite challenging for the team. The Eagles put up a fight for the Sequoits and knew how to throw them off with many blocked shots, steals, and as the Eagles began to shut down the Sequoit offense. This made for a tough environment when fans were putting immense pressure on both teams to play their best. Rathmann entails that the team played scared at times.
“I think the team played a little bit frazzled by the crowd, and the pressures, and the intensity that came out,” Rathmann said. “I think we were expecting a little bit more of an easy game.”
There is something special about playing a rivalry game as many people are there and it is talked about not only by the players but also friends, family and teachers. The support in rivalry games is like no other, as the Sequoits continue to play against the Eagles in girls basketball.
Rathmann is excited for the rest of the season, as they had a rocky start. However, the girls are learning to work better with one another and are able to pick up on new skills to continue to win games.
Senior Teddi Wetu was a spectator of the game and showed his support for the girls in a pressure-filled game. He is happy with how the girls played in the first few minutes, as they hit every shot at first which set the tone for the rest of the game. The team had good chemistry but then started to lose it as the game progressed.
Wetu noticed that many of the players stepped up when some others were not playing their best. He noted Rathmann, as when she was having a tough few minutes, many of her other teammates were right behind her and getting the work done to still be successful.
Wetu suggests that the girls should work on their time management. He encourages them to be mindful of what is happening around them.
“When you’re up that late in the game, your opponent is not the other team; it’s the clock,” Wetu said.
For the future, the team needs to work on technical issues and skills that can easily be fixed. The girls also need to improve on adapting to the environment of the game and being able to adjust to the pressure of the game.
The Antioch girls varsity basketball team has a lot to work on for the rest of their season, but after this big win against their rivals at home, their future is looking bright as they prepare to face Round Lake High School next.