Crosspoint's girls basketball team using defeat as a teaching moment ahead of playoffs
When Crosspoint's girls basketball team played Evergreen Lutheran at Gundy Hall a little over a month ago, the Warriors faced little resistance in a 46-21 victory.
"That was probably our best game of the whole season," Crosspoint assistant coach Bryan Hanley said of the Jan. 7 game. "Everything was working. People were executing."
Wednesday night's home rematch in the Sea-Tac League 1B tournament championship game was not Crosspoint's best game of the season — far from it. Starting four freshmen and a sophomore, the Warriors played like a young team searching for answers in a 29-27 loss.
"Stung," said Crosspoint head coach Jenny Kuske, describing how her players felt following the defeat.
Crosspoint (13-7) now awaits its seeding in tri-district tournament play. Had the Warriors won Wednesday, it's likely the team would have earned a top-four seed, which comes with a first-round bye. Now Crosspoint is likely headed for a loser-out game Saturday.
As poor as Crosspoint played against Evergreen Lutheran, the team never trailed by more than seven points and stayed within a basket or two for much of the game. Time and time again, the Warriors missed shots along the interior against a taller Evergreen Lutheran team that dominated the boards.
"That's the frustrating part," Kuske said of losing by two points.
The Warriors had a chance to win or tie the game at the final buzzer, but freshman Libby Parker saw her 3-pointer bank off the backboard and carom off the rim.
Crosspoint isn't playing at full strength, after leading scorer Halle Kuske injured her knee in December. On a team of youngsters, Kuske's experience as a junior is sorely missed.
"She's one of our best ball-handlers and more of a calming presence," said Jenny Kuske, whose younger daughter Anna is one of Crosspoint's freshmen starters.
With only two seniors and two juniors on a roster of 12, Crosspoint's performance this season is more of a glimpse of what the Warriors could be in the future as players mature and add experience. A former head coach at Crosspoint, Hanley said this season's team reminds him of his 2010-11 squad, which started four freshmen and a junior. That team qualified for the regional round of the state tournament from 2011-13.
The 2022-23 version of the Warriors have some work to do in order to qualify for regionals later this month, but even better days hopefully lie ahead.
"The future is really bright," Hanley said.
Spartan girls advance, boys fall
In other playoff action Wednesday, Bainbridge's girls scored a 45-38 victory over Heritage in a Class 3A West Central/Southwest Bi-District tournament play-in game at Black Hills High School. Sophomore Bella Ramirez posted 20 points for the Spartans, who used a 17-2 run to take command in the game.
"Mental toughness is what got us through tonight," said Bainbridge head coach Zach Burnam, who picked up his first career playoff win. "Our defense was outstanding. The girls played for four quarters. Best I've seen all season."
Up next for Bainbridge (11-10) is a loser-out road game Friday against Silas.
Bainbridge's boys team saw its season end with a 55-47 loss to Prairie in a Class 3A West Central/Southwest Bi-District tournament play-in game. The Spartans finished with a 12-9 record.
Knights break Oly League tie with big win
In an Olympic League 2A tie-breaker game, Bremerton demolished Olympic 64-29 in a game played at Klahowya Secondary School. The Knights (6-13) earned the league's fourth seed into next week's West Central/Sea-King Bi-District tournament. Samuel Tucker led Bremerton with 16 points, while Trent Bulmer added 15.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Crosspoint girls basketball use defeat as playoff motivation
