The Valley Chronicle - Diamondbacks slither past Lady Cougarsng

Acacia MS girls basketball succumbed to the venom of Diamond Valley, 16-14

[caption id="attachment_1463" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Corey Evan / The Valley Chronicle
Action shot taken during the girls basketball game.[/caption] ■ Corey Evan / Sports Reporter Who here remembers the song “Anything you can do I can do better”? After seeing the basketball boys go at it on Thursday afternoon, the girls teams of Acacia and Diamond Valley middle schools took their turn in the Cougar gym to prove just that. The Diamondbacks would take the first two points of the game, in a first quarter that came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. That means it went pretty quickly, class. But before it was done, the Lady Cougars did at least get one free throw in. The Lady Cougars did improve a little in the second quarter, adding three points to the big board. But the D-backs’ venom was apparent in this game as they added four. Would home court advantage assist the Cougars in flipping a 6-4 deficit? After a brief half-time, it would seem so as the Cougars and the D-backs were nipping at each others’ heels score-wise in the third quarter. With three minutes left in said quarter, the Cougars took over the lead, having added eight points to their board over the D-backs’ five. But the snakes still had some venom left for the final quarter. Lead changes abounded leading up to the final buzzer. It came down to the final minute of game play, as the two teams launched attack after attack. In the last minute, the D-backs had a slight edge on the Cougars, who kept right on them. Despite this being a low-scoring game, the intensity in the Cougar Gym was electric. But that hardly takes the sting out of a 16-14 loss to the D-backs. Nonetheless, Coach Corina Moore was happy to observe both teams’ strengths. “They played some good defense, but I think our girls probably outworked them defensively,” she said. “We just gotta make smart plays on offense, but I’m proud of both of these teams.” Moore also expresses her appreciation for what team players Latayvion and Christine brought to the game. You’ll be able to see the girls in action this afternoon against the visiting Dartmouth Knights, at 5 p.m. Bring some snacks… and brace yourself for the noise level.