The Oviedo Lions girls’ basketball team hosted two basketball games last week, one against Lake Mary and one against Winter Springs High School. After two weeks of no competitive matches, these games were an opportunity for the team to showcase their skills after a long break. Two weeks ago, the team defeated Lake Brantley, gaining their second win of the season. The Lady Lions hoped to continue that strong run and put on an impressive showcase last week.
On Tuesday, January 7, the Lady Lions lost a hard-fought battle against Winter Springs, losing by a score of 37-42. It was a great defensive showing as they allowed their third least amount of points in a game this season. Senior Leah Hopkins, who scored 8 points, felt the game’s outcome should’ve been different.
“I definitely think that we should’ve won that game, we just have to stop making mistakes and giving up leads,” said Hopkins. “We communicated very well, but we could’ve executed our plays better, and done better at boxing out for rebounds.”
On Thursday January 9, Oviedo’s Lions lost again, this time to Lake Mary High School 37-45. Despite the loss, Oviedo showed some strength against a team who is 11-5, and ranked 89th in the state. The Lady Lions struggled in the first half, but had a great late push in the second half of the game. Junior Maleah Drupa was disappointed in her performance, but felt the team showed great signs of growth.
“The game didn’t go as I’d hoped personally, but I felt the team played very well together as a whole,” said Drupa, “We’ve been playing at a lower level lately, so I think it was great the way we played, and really brought our confidence up.”
It’s been a disappointing season for the Lady Lions, as they now have reached a record of 2-11. They’ve played many close games this season, which has given them confidence and belief that they can turn this season around and finish it off strong.
“We’re definitely improving, and you can tell we are based on our last few games,” said Hopkins. “We’ve got a lot of home games which helps, and I’m hoping our team can grab a couple more wins.”
The team will now travel to Altamonte Springs on Tuesday, January 13, going against Altamonte Christian High School. Altomonte Christian is 11-4, and ranked 13th in Florida Division 1A. The Lady Lions need to keep building trust and continue to communicate with each other if they want to win. Despite their record, Oviedo believes they are the better team, and expect to win against this team.
