Brookwood learns lesson in physicality from Chiles
Most often private schools will meet public schools on the hardwood in the regular season to get a taste of the physicality that public school basketball teams bring to the court. On Wednesday night the Brookwood Warriors got exactly that as both the girls and boys varsity squads took on Chiles.
The girls got the night off to a good start. Behind star senior power forward Maddie Duncan and some solid defensive strategy, the Lady Warriors were able to hold Chiles to just 27 points in the game to take the ten point victory.
“The game was pretty rough. It’s always physical against public schools like that,” said Duncan. “We definitely missed a lot of shots that we could have made, but we played really hard.”
With the game a bit tighter after the third quarter, the Warriors switched it up defensively moving to a triangle two and locking down Chiles’ perimeter threats. Abigail Squires had the tough assignment of locking down one of the Timberwolves craftiest players Kaitlyn Fagan. Squires did very well, holding Fagan to just one made three in the quarter.
“I think our defense kind of dictated how the game went,” said head coach Jerry Ridley. “Offensively, I don’t think we played anywhere near as well as we’re capable of playing, but I always tell the girls that if you play good defense and give an effort that’s something you bring every night. You’re shooting may be off, but your defense, your rebounding and effort should never be off and that’s kind of how they play the game.”
The boys had less success against a much larger, more physical and faster Chiles team. While head coach Nate VanDuyne noted that the Warriors effort was there, the offense was not as the Warriors scored just 17 points in the first half.
“I thought our effort was phenomenal. There’s no questioning of our effort,” VanDuyne said “It wasn’t for lack of the ability to create shots, it was more just that we didn’t convert and when we don’t convert that many times when we have opportunities it’s just going to be an uphill battle after that.”
Anytime a program plays a more physical team it can be a learning experience no matter the final score. Both the Brookwood boys and girls proved that on Wednesday night.
“It definitely makes us stronger chemistry wise and all around really,” said Duncan. “Against region teams we are very competitive. Even if we lose, we’re still getting better.”
“I think higher levels of competition are always going to be good for us. Right now we’re sitting here at 10-2,” Van-Duyne said. “Sometimes a loss is better for your program than what maybe another win might be. They had something that we hadn’t seen. They had shooting, they had range to where it really stretched us defensively and it was a big learning situation for our guys.”
The Lady Warriors will be back on the court on the fourth of the new year as they take on Thomasville High School. The Brookwood boys will travel to Westwood on the second before joining the girls at Thomasville on January fourth.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.