On Saturday the Lightning beat the Upper Makefield Heat in their first game of the day. The gym was hidden and, once we found it hot, but it seems like the girls have become accustomed to that. Once again the ball movement was tremendous this time combined with stifling man to man defense and the bigs sliding to help and block shots underneath, unselfish play all the way around. Makefield put forth good effort on defense themselves but the offensive firepower of the lightning was too much and the game was out of reach before the second half began.
The second game was 15 minutes away, the gym was not hidden this time but in clear view and.... AIR CONDITIONED! Not something we are used to but the team seemed to adapt readily and crushed the Central Jersey Rebels before they even knew what hit 'em. Poor things.
Everyone pitched in on the rebounding all weekend long and this game was no exception. The entire team made spectacular passes with all five on the floor getting touches on most possessions and numerous assists. After the game's conclusion most of the team schlepped the six hours and forty minutes to the luxurious Taj Mahal of Days Inn's in Hillsborough where only the heaviest of sleepers enjoyed a restful slumber.
Sunday started poolside in the parking lo... I mean "courtyard" of the hotel with fun being had by teammates, family and friends (some of whom got a bit too much sun). A quick trip to Princeton was rewarded with frozen yogurt at The Twist then, on to the games.
First victim, Team Freckles! Go ahead and laugh if you want but these girls were tough. They had a big that could run the floor, a tall skilled guard, a nice trapping press and until she tired herself out chasing the ball number 15 was a one girl full court press. They also had good coaching and showed the best quality of all throughout a tough and often physical game, good sportsmanship... they helped our girls up after crashing them to the floor.... we returned the favor.
As for the Lightning... they got every loose ball, played great defense forcing turnovers by doubling the ball and jumping into the passing lane, blocked more shots than I've ever seen and forced jump balls on what seemed like every Freckles possession. Again, every player on the floor was thinking pass first and looking for their open teammates.
Then it got weird. While the Brady crew took a casual tour of the entire state of New Jersey we sat in a hot gym and waited, and waited, and waited. Not for Brady, she had already missed the first game but until the Kyniska coach decided his principles had not been compromised and that we could begin a six o'clock version of what should have been a 5:20 game (just in case anyone was thinking of beating the Sunday night traffic back to Long Island). It was good Brady materialized before the opposing coach's intact principles allowed the game to go on. She was fun to watch and I ended up running out of room in the book for her stat line. Not just rebounds and blocks but assists, steals you name it. I also learned something on Sunday, don't make the Lightning mad if you can possibly avoid it, especially Ashleigh. I think Woody threw someone on the floor who had been annoying Brady towards the end as well, as a matter of principle. As for Kyniska, when speaking of 10 year old girls it would be cruel to say that they were beaten to within an inch of their lives, so I won't say that.
In spite of some logistical adversity, a truly great weekend! Winning has a way of soothing whatever ails ya'!
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