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The Rice Lady Raiders lost their most recent game to Palacios 59-22 on Friday, Dec. 13, on their home court.
That score does not look the most appealing especially for the fans of the Lady Raiders but let’s talk about it for a bit.
This team has a lot of young players, most of which has not played varsity basketball. That was something that was confirmed by the Lady Raiders head coach Reagan Beal.
Coach Beal said that most of these girls were playing JV last season and are still adjusting to the pace of play as well as the systems. Watching the team that is something that is evident, the team moves the ball well but sometimes it is just a second too slow.
That allows the opposing defense to adjust to the play and force turnovers seemingly at will. It can be frustrating as a fan to watch but look at it this way, the Lady Raiders are playing the long game.
While their plays are getting disrupted because they are seeing it a little too late, they’re still seeing the play. That’s a positive sign because while the Lady Raiders are a little green when it comes to varsity basketball they are playing their systems very well.
If they were standing around with their heads in the clouds all game long, then that would be a cause for concern. But these young ladies are engaged, and they understand that this season is going to look sloppy at times, but in each game they are gaining knowledge and experience.
They are going to start applying the things they learn in practice and the intensity of practices will rise which will translate to on-court success. It’s just going to take time and patience.
So while there will be some frustration because they would rather these losses go the other way, understand that the Lady Raiders are trying to build something special and they are currently doing all the right things to get it done.
