Lady T-bird’s fall to Central Arizona by 6

Jonathon Smith

The Lady T-bird’s basketball team hosted defending ACCAC champion Central Arizona on Nov. 21.
Tough defense, led by Amber Bond with three blocks, kept this game close to the end.
With only minutes left, it looked like Central Arizona was going to extend their lead to double digits on a fast break. Amber Bond came from behind though and provided a huge block on the lay up.
After the game Amber said, “I had just waved over to bench for a breather. I had been in most of the half and needed to catch my breath. When I saw the fast break start, I didn’t think I could get to it. My legs weren’t fresh, but I found the last bit of strength I had left and just went for it. I surprised even myself.”
The entire team seemed to feed off the emotion from her block and it sparked a surge that tied the game up with just minutes to play.
The T-bird’s just couldn’t manage to hit their shots in the final two minutes, and the Vaqueras took advantage. The T-bird’s, unable to close out, lost to the Vaqueras, 73-67.
Despite a sup-par performance shooting the ball, Briana Benjamin was resilient and energetic, scoring 14 points and providing 4 assists.
Three other T-bird’s finished in double figures. Amber Bond and Christina Buescher both added 10 points, and Callina Hurley added 12. Buescher also had 5 assists.
As a team the Thunderbirds only shot 3 of 14 from behind the arc. It’s tough to beat a good team like Central Arizona any given night, but it’s nearly impossible if the shots aren’t falling.
As poorly as they shot, if a couple of loose balls had gone the other way, this game could have easily been a win for the Thunderbirds.
It was a tough loss, but the T-birds hope to build on their performance and find a little more success from the outside when they face Chandler-Gilbert and Phoenix College in their next two games.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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