Good from beyond the arc
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| Arapahoe's Mary Cavanaugh (No. 21) drives in for a layup, while Cherry Creek's Melissa Haines defends Jan. 13 at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village during Centennial League action. Photo by Benn Farrell |
Arapahoe girls struggle with youth but can hit the hoop
Published: 01.20.10
Arapahoe girls know how to hit the three’s.
However, the rest of their game has to catch up quickly with Centennial League play off and running.
Arapahoe High School girls hoops went 1-1 in their league schedule Jan. 15 with a win at home over Eaglecrest 49-30, which followed a close loss to Cherry Creek 58-55 on the road.
With the win over Eaglecrest, the Warriors improved to a 4-9 overall record. Coach Ron Burgin said shooting isn’t a problem for Arapahoe; however, defense is an area the team needs to improve.
“We’re turning the ball over too much, and we’re giving up too many easy shots,” Burgin said. “That’s what we talk about most. Defensively, we’ve got to do a better job of containing teams and keeping them from getting such easy shots.
“We’re depending on being able to hit [the basket from] 15 feet or further, which we do, but it’s hard to win when that’s all you get. So, those are the things we’re trying to focus on.”
Against Cherry Creek, Arapahoe hit seven buckets from beyond the arc, five of which were compliments of Amanda Martinez.
Martinez is presently one of the team’s leading scorers and, with teammate Mary Cavanaugh, one of the two three-point threats for the Warriors.
“We can do that. We can live and die by the three-pointer, but we have to get some better shots, and we’ve got to make it more difficult for the other team to score,” Burgin said.
The coach said the team struggles with its youth and inexperience. In fact, most of the team has never played varsity prior to this year.
Burgin also noted Arapahoe is the only team with so much youth in the league this season, so improvement is a must.
“We’re much better,” he said. “We probably would have lot to Creek by 20 points a couple months ago. We’re definitely moving up, but we’ve got to hurry, cause we’re running out of season. We’re trying to get there.”
Of course with so much youth on the team, leadership falls on the shoulders of the seniors, even though they don’t have a lot of varsity experience as well.
“It’s a tough deal,” Burgin said. “We’re learning as we go. They are a very good group of kids. They want to do well, but they don’t always understand how. That’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
Alli Adkins and Lara McDougald have also ben contributing heavily on the scoreboard. McDougald also presently leads the team in rebounds.
Centennial League action continued for the Warriors Jan. 20 at Mullen. Results of the game were unavailable by press time
