Last year, News Editor Sophia Lindstrom chronicled her experience watching football for the first time. In an effort to better understand the hype around this whole sports thing, she and her good friend Editor-in-Chief Ava Orofino took things a step further and went to a Clark University basketball game.
The game was a face-off between the Clark University Women’s Basketball Team and the Regis College Lions on Nov. 16.
Our nominations for stand-out Clark players included MVP, Most Free Throws, Best Shoes, and perhaps most importantly, Best Hair. We also are including a Big Tumble Counter. To be counted, a Big Tumble must fulfill the following requirements:
- It must be a complete fall on the ground.
- Ava must say, “ooh, I hope they’re okay!”
- If two or more people fall, it still constitutes only one Big Tumble.
Bonus points were awarded if someone used a mop to re-squeak the floor afterward.
With rules set and reporter notebooks at the ready, the game started.
Quarter One
Clark’s defense was incredibly strong in this quarter, made only stronger by the home bench chanting “defense” whenever the Lions had possession of the ball. There were also a lot of free throws in this quarter. Alaina Schatzabel made one free throw, Olivia Shipley made two, and Catherine Antwi made three.
It took us until one and a half minutes were left in the quarter to realize that the 30-second timer on each of the hoops indicates how much time the team with the ball has to score. It took an additional two minutes after that to deduce that free-throws were worth 1 point.
The quarter ended with a score 25-10, with Clark in the lead. There were three Big Tumbles.
Quarter Two
Kailey Rios made a three-pointer that made us both say “yay!” out loud. Schatzabel made another two free throws, and so did Megan Swedberg. Juliette Tarsa also made a free throw.
This widened Clark’s lead to 46-14, with a record-breaking five Big Tumbles. There was also an adorable weiner dog, gracing the spectators with its presence.
“This isn’t a normal game,” Sports Editor Morgan Martin said after approaching us at half-time. “The score is supposed to be way closer.”
Intermission/Half-Time
During half-time (which Orofino originally called intermission by habit), there were a number of absolute BANGERS for song choices. These included “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston, “Yeah” by Usher and “Shipping Off to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys.
“We’re really in New England,” Lindstrom, who has lived in New England her entire life, noted.
During their break, both teams practiced with a “Monkey-in-the-Middle” type warm-up to get ready for the second half of the game. We both thought it looked fun.
Quarter Three
Rios made another free throw, and Emma Drefs made both of hers.
This quarter was a total blowout, bringing the score to 73-24, Clark leading. There were three Big Tumbles.
Quarter Four
Elaina Wood made one free throw. Elyse Cho missed both free throws but made a redemption basket immediately afterward that had the crowd going wild. Cho rallied later in the quarter and made an additional free throw, widening the lead.
The final score came out to 87-48 for Clark, and an additional three Big Tumbles brought the tally to 14. Roll Cougs!
There was no outro music as crowds left the stands, which we believe was a missed opportunity. Regardless, the energy and pride to be a Cougar radiated through the court.
The Awards
We award this game’s Most Valuable Player to Sophomore Antwi for her aggressive offense and consistent shooting. Honorable mentions include Rios and Schatzabel for this award. Great job, everyone!
Antwi and Schatzabel also tie for the award for Most Free Throws, which is three for both according to our counter. We see two real stars in the making!
Now to reveal best shoes and best hair, the most coveted awards in the sport. We unanimously award Drefs for best shoes. Alyssa Bordonaro and Cyriah Coleman were both nominated for best hair, so we’ll call it a tie.
For two sports-viewing amateurs, we had an absolute blast at this game. We encourage you to support the Cougars by showing up for them this season.
