No key player emerged to
take control, as the Lady
Centurions fell to 0-2, losing
badly at home to Harrisburg
by a score of 86-30.
Head coach Lori Sullivan
has a rather unorthodox approach
to her team, as players
take turns each game as the
team leader.
The word “captain” never
entered into the discussion,
and Sullivan said, “This is a
team sport; everyone is on
equal footing on this team.”
This parity, while well intentioned,
may have dire results
for the team, with no player
stepping forward to take a
vocal leadership role, thereby
“righting the ship.”
Bucks was clearly jittery
right from the opening tip, as
errant passes and sloppy ballhandling
allowed Harrisburg
to score 18 unanswered
points.
The Lady Centurions never
led in this game, and were
down by as many as 30
points just before the half.
Whatever Sullivan told the
team in the locker room at
halftime appeared to help
somewhat, as the girls came
out in the second half with
more determination and
focus.
But by this time, Harrisburg
already had the game well in
hand and appeared quicker to
the ball and crisper in nearly
every offensive category.
Cinnamon Brown, a forward
for Harrisburg, dominated
down low, scoring
several uncontested baskets,
and Harrisburg kept the Centurions
from driving the basket
during their possessions.
Clearly the pivotal player in
the game, Brown thwarted
any Bucks player from shooting
in close, blocking several
attempts at easy layups.
This forced the Lady Centurions
to shoot more from the
perimeter, and unfortunately,
not many of those shots fell.
Sullivan was clearly not
fazed by her teams’ early
woes this season.
“I want the girls to have fun
out there, to be positive, regardless
of the score,” Sullivan
said.
While this approach may
well be admirable, when it
comes to sports, winning is
the ultimate goal. So how
can a coach draw positives
from a losing effort?
Sullivan explained, “The
scoreboard means nothing. I
was happy to see that we
played hard to the end despite
the score.”
The girls did battle right to
the ending buzzer, and a last
second buzzer beater from
the Lady Centurions drew a
cheer from the home crowd.
“Obviously, when you consider
how much these girls
have on their plate, between
work, school and family,
sometimes practice comes
third or even fourth,” Sullivan
said.
When it comes down to it,
the term is student-athlete,
and Sullivan takes that to
heart, allowing her girls the
necessary time to take care of
schoolwork.
“While we work hard in
practice, stressing defense
and communication and fundamentals,
there are just
some things that come first,
even before practice,” Sullivan
said.