Last week both the Lady Blue Devils and Blue Devils were busy, both teams playing four games in five days.
The week started off with a home game against Frederick. The Lady Blue Devils got off to a slow start in the first quarter, and after an eight point second quarter they found themselves down 27-12 at halftime. The Lady Blue Devils were able to put together another eight point quarter in the third and were actually able to outscore the Lady Bombers in the fourth, but it was not enough as the Lady Blue Devils fell short losing 59-35.
The Blue Devils started off the week with a hard fought game against the Bombers. The boys came out hot with 16 points in the first quarter, and were able to pour in another 12 points in the second quarter finding themselves down only five points at half. A back and forth third quarter with the Bombers saw their lead grow to eight points. The boys fought hard in the fourth scoring 12 point, but giving up 17 trying to force some turnovers with a press, and saw their effort come up short 63-49
On Tuesday the Lady Blue Devils traveled to Merritt to take on the Oilerettes. The Lady Blue Devils were unable to get anything going in the first quarter, but were able to keep pace with the Oilerttes in the second quarter, and were down 33-14 at halftime. It was a similar story for the Lady Blue Devils in the second half, as they couldn't get much going in the third, but kept pace in the fourth, and found themselves on the short end of the scoreboard losing 56-22.
On Tuesday the Blue Devils unfortunately found themselves gassed from the hard fought game against Frederick, and started off slow against the Oilers. Fortunately for the Blue Devils the Oilers also started off slow, and the Blue Devils had a one point lead after one quarter. The Oilers though were able to catch fire in the second quarter putting up 23 points to the Blue Devils five, having the boys find themselves down 30-13 at half. The third quarter was similar to the first in regards to not too many points scored, but the Blue Devils were able to keep pace. In the fourth quarter the Blue Devils were able to make a push, and even cut it to a 12 point game at one point, but were unable to finish the comeback falling short 54-41.
On Thursday the Lady Blue Devils played the late game in the Tri-County Tournament where they were matched up with the 3A Luther Lady Lions. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned for the Lady Blue Devils, and they were down 44-5 at halftime. While the girls fought hard, they were not able to sustain the pressure of the Lady Lions falling 72-12.
On Thursday the Boys got the early game in the Tri-County tournament against the Hobart Bearcats. The boys got off to a slow start in the first quarter, and had some energy in the second quarter, but found themselves down 47-11 at the halftime break. The Blue Devils had their best quarter scoring 11 in the third quarter, but the deficit was insurmountable, and the Blue Devils lost 87-24.
On a short turnaround the Lady Blue Devils played the Hollis Lady Tigers at 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning of the Tri-County Tournament. The short turnaround proved to be difficult for the Lady Blue Devils, as they started out slow, not finding a bucket in the first quarter. They were able to find 9 points in the second, and were down 24-9 at the half. The Lady Blue Devils were unable to put together the halftime adjustments, and were able to find only 9 points in the second half. They lost 50-18 ending their chances at the consolation championship.
On Friday the boys also drew the Hollis Tigers for a chance to play in the Consolation Championship. Both teams showed some fatigue, and the boys got up 5-4 at one point in the first quarter, unfortunately a scoring drought found them at that same score at half. The second half was much better as the boys came out and scored 13 points in the third, and another 10 in the fourth, but were unable to get the stops that were needed to close the game losing 40-28.
Coach Josh Trent said “The girls continue to work hard, and improve while we are not getting the results we want at this very moment. We are hoping it all comes together at the right time.”
Coach Vaughn Blankenship said “The boys are giving effort and showing improvement in areas, and we are hoping to see it all come together come playoff time.”