What a Game!

Katie Roth
An amazing game with a lot of struggles and triumphs! A "you should've been there" type of game! A hard loss 35-39.
The Tigers had an action packed game against Oliver Middle School. The first half of the game saw both teams get a lot of shots up, play aggressive defense, and crash the boards on offense and defense. The Tigers tried a new defensive strategy, actively switching from their man-to-man to their zone defense, which worked well in creating chaos and easy turnovers. While the Tigers got a lot of great transition opportunities, whether it was a tough rim out, a missed foul call, or just shooting it too hard, they couldn’t finish at the basket consistently. Despite the consistent pressure on offense and defense, Oliver was relentless on their drives and had a great point guard, who was able to create space with her sharp shooting. The Tigers found themselves in early foul trouble, two starters had 3 fouls each, and entered half time down 4 points, 13-17. 

The second half brought more adversity as a starter fouled out early in the 3rd causing the fans and team to rally for them. The team came together to out rebound Oliver in the 3rd quarter and continued to produce against Oliver’s 2-3 zone. The 4th quarter is where the heat really turned up. Throughout the game the score waffled back and forth between the teams; Oliver maintained a slight lead most of the game, but USN’s defense kept Oliver from only scoring 4 points  in the 4th and then offensively the Tigers exploded, scoring 11 points, from 4 different players. In the final 0.6 of the 4th quarter USN had a poor foul on a three point shot attempt, giving Oliver 3 free throws to either win the game or tie it up. Oliver made 2, tying the game 31-31. In the final 0.6 seconds USN called a timeout after the free throws, drew up a play, and the Tigers executed it perfectly!!! They set up their press break, CC Cook ‘29 threw a perfect pass over the defense where Johnsie Dawkins ‘28 was cutting, she took a long dribble into a half court shot and she sank the half court shot!!! The crowd went crazy!! It was so amazing, but then it was called off by the officials. It was such an amazing moment despite the referees calling for overtime.

In overtime it came to urgency and end of game management. Unfortunately the Tigers haven’t had a lot of experience in this type of end game situations and while they competed well into overtime (they even found themselves leading at one point), some rough travel calls and turnovers late game stunted any momentum the Tigers built up. The hustle was there, but the long game started taking its toll and the Tiger's small mistakes led opportunities for Oliver that they capitalized on. In the end, USN lost 35-39 in a game that invigorated the entire gym with pretty much everyone standing up and cheering their teams on. 

The notable players of the game were Yori Crozier ‘29 with a crazy double double of 12 rebounds and 17 points (along with a few blocks and steals), and Johnsie Dawkins ‘28  with 4 points, 3 steals, 4 rebounds, and a block of her own. Some notable plays of the game came from CC Cook ‘29 who made an incredible 3 pointer in the 4th quarter that helped get the Tigers into overtime and Greta Molvig ‘28 who made a great jump shot that helped tie the game in overtime. 

This game showed how much and how quickly this team is developing. It was a game this team will be looking back on throughout the entire season because of all the positive things they did, but also all the things they can learn from. It was a game people will say “you just had to be there.” So as winter break comes and goes, everyone should plan to support these Tigers in their second half of the season! Great job Tigers!
Back

More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

Archive

Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

Resources

USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.