"Defense First" Leads Mundy's Mill To Comeback Win Over Northgate
On Tuesday, the Northgate Vikings and Mundy’s Mill Tigers girls basketball team hit the court in a non-region matchup as they Vikings looked to secure their third consecutive win and the Tigers looked for back to back wins for the first time since having their three game win streak to start the season snapped back in November.
As the game got underway, the Vikings jumped out on the Tigers, controlling both ends of the court as they opened the first quarter pf play outscoring Mundy’s Mill 21-9 in the period. However, the tide would turn in favor of the Tigers in the second quarter as their defensive focus caused problems for the Vikings. The Tigers would outscore Northgate 14-5 in the period and trail 26-23 at the half.
Mundy’s Mill would maintain momentum throughout the third quarter Jaylah Jones (16 points) would give the Tigers a spark offensively, while they would shut the Vikings down defensively, holding them to just one point in the quarter, while scoring 14 in the period and taking a 37-27 lead. The Tigers would continue to dominate Northgate for the remainder of the game and go on to pick up the 47-37 win.
“Just being patient and just loving the process and just trying to get better and better on each possession,” Mundy’s Mill head coach, Arquavis Searcy said of his players’ mentality to battle back for the win. Searcy added that his players knew the importance of staying engaged and active throughout the entire of the game, despite trailing by 12 points. “Not taking any breaks off and just doing what we need to do to stay in the game so hopefully we can win at the end,” Searcy said.
With the win, the Tigers pick up back to back victories for the first time since November and Searcy credited his players’ “defense first” mindset for playing a role in their turnaround as of late. “You know, kids don’t like to play defense. Everybody runs by offense, but if we can hold a team down enough with a couple of possessions to keep us in the game or get back into the game, we can do what we need to do to win the game offensively,” Searcy said.
The Tigers will have some time off before returning to action on January 6 when they face Forest Park in a key region matchup.
