Girls Basketball – Cedars Earn Big Victory Resulting From Strong Leadership

Written by Abigail Swanson

This article was written by Lebanon High School junior Abigail Swanson, as part of LebCoSports’ mission to give students a platform to develop their college and career skills.

The 6-0 Lebanon Cedar Girls Basketball team hosted the 7-1 McCaskey Red Tornado on Wednesday night. The gym was electric, with much buzz about the rivalry between the two Section 1 teams. The Cedars took the win, with the final score being 59-40.

Starting for the Cedars were Kailah Correa #1, Olive Brandt #2, Zariyah Whigham #5, Aaliyah Ferrer #24, and Liliana Harrison #50. The game was led off with back-to-back steals by Correa and Whigham. Following her steal, Correa scored while double teamed. Freshman Brandt brought the energy to the court, while always staying near the action. The trio of Whigham, Correa, and Ferrer were fierce. Whigham rebounded, Correa saved, Ferrer knocked down the 3-ball (Ferrar finished with 3 on the night). The Tornado saw this and pressed with 3:30 to go in the first quarter. Correa led the quarter with 11 points, followed with Ferrer’s 3-pointer, and center Harrison with 3 blocks and multiple assists.

Starting off the second quarter, Correa took a hard foul to the head that threatened to slow down the Cedars, but they quickly had a boost from Jae Burrus off the bench. With this dynamic, the Tornado pulled back their counterproductive press. The Cedars’ Ferrer took this opportunity to step up and make another off the backboard 3 pointer. Coming back from the first quarter, Brandt pestered the Tornado with aggressive open-court gameplay. The stats at half time show leadership from Correa with 19 points and Ferrer with 11 points. Players Brandt and Burrus had a prevalent presence on the scoreboard as well with 6 and 4 points. At the half the score was Lebanon 44, McCaskey 25.

Both teams were committed to their presses going into third quarter. Correa led with the first points from a fast break. The gameplay slowed with considerably more set plays from both teams. Brandt tied up the ball and forced a turnover, keeping her energy level high despite playing lots of minutes. With an assist from Correa, Whigham dominated the glass with layups and rebounds. Correa ended the quarter strong with multiple points from easy fast breaks. She was supported with equally as strong rebounds from a number of her teammates.

Going into the fourth quarter, Coach Walborn made the decision to pull some starters. There was constant subbing that resulted in a majority of the starters being pulled. The Cedars went scoreless the fourth quarter, most of which Correa was off the court. At that point, the missing presence of leadership had an effect on the ability of the team to score. Despite this, players coming off the bench showed lots of hustle and energy. This quarter revealed the importance of leadership amongst the Cedar starters.

The next outing for the seven-win Cedars is the Holiday Tournament on the 28th and 29th of December.