An Awesome Start to the Season!

The Tigers had their first official game of the season at Harding Academy. Everyone was buzzing with excitement at finally being able to play. Despite some nerves, the Tigers came out aggressive and didn’t shy away from Harding Academy’s hard press. It took some trial and error but USN was able to accept the defensive pressure and break the press through the middle, leading to some awesome transition layups and drives to the basket! At the end of the first half USN held the lead, 15-13. The Tigers really hung their hat and great defense and composed passes against the press.

In the second half Harding made some defensive adjustments, squeezing the middle and trapping the Tiger's ball hander early. Harding took control of the momentum and USN struggled to find the calm within the manufactured chaos. As the game sped up, the Tigers found multiple players in foul trouble. With the defensive pressure and aggressiveness up, the Tigers found a lot of opportunities to make steals and re-gain possession, but unfortunately the shots weren't falling as easily. Harding was able to out score the Tigers in the 3rd and 4th quarter and took the lead for the win, 25-32. 

It was truly a tale of two halves, but despite the hard loss, this game showed that these Tigers can execute at a high level defensively and offensively. The notable players of the game were Zara Campos, who almost had a double double with 7 rebounds and 10 points and Yori Crozier, who had 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks! As the Tigers progress through their season with confidence and excitement, everyone should come out and watch these student-athletes compete to be the best they can be! Go Tigers!