It took a few minutes for Hudson’s Bay High School to successfully cross half court against the Falcon girls basketball squad on Friday, Jan. 3.
The Falcons rocketed off to a 35-0 first quarter, reaching 39-0 in the second quarter before ultimately capping the win 71-7.
Falcons head coach Michael Roberts thought the game was a good opportunity to solidify the squad’s offense and defense ahead of the 3A Greater St. Helens League schedule starting. As well, the Falcons worked on some areas to the game that will make them successful in the coming weeks, he added.
“I have a younger group, and so really it’s been that starting five tonight,” Roberts said of the players who have stood out this season.
The Falcons start their season 3-4, with hopes to flip the win-loss column to a positive record and a spot into the playoffs after the league portion of the season concludes.
Roberts, in his first season as Falcons head coach, knows he has some big shoes to fill.
“Prairie is a very storied girls basketball program so it’s awesome to come into a place with a lot of tradition, but really just trying to build our own legacy and trying to recreate and reimagine the success that has been here before,” Roberts said of the experience so far.
Roberts said the 3A Greater St. Helens League will be a tough slate.
“You have Evergreen and Mountain View returning a lot of people, but I think we can hold our own,” he said. “I think if we play our version of basketball, kind of like we did tonight and keep our core principles and our staples, we should be as successful as we want to be.”
Just like the boys game before them, the Falcon girls squad played their bench for a significant amount of the game, giving the players much needed experience.
“I think playing your bench helps because there could be a situation come league or even potentially the playoffs that you know you need somebody that’s normally deeper in the bench that doesn’t get a lot of playing time,” Roberts said. “So right now, building that experience and building those minutes will be key moving forward.”
The Falcons began league play with a home matchup on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Results were unavailable at press time. The Falcons next play a non-league home game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, against Skyview High School.
