Lady T-birds struggle to find team chemistry
Laura Carwalho
Disappointed. That is the word describing the public and head coach Kori Stephenson after the young T-birds failed to get a victory again, this time to Cochise College. MCC hosted the fifth annual MLK Basketball Classic on Jan. 19.
The games at Mesa were part of a statewide showcase that day, which featured games in the high school and junior college ranks.
The game against Cochise College didn’t reflect a satisfactory performance for the team.
Cochise had the advantage from the beginning until the last minute.
Cochise outclassed the T-Birds, obtaining a remarkable score of 91-60 to secure their victory.
Playing at home didn’t help Mesa’s team either.
The girls had a slow start and even after the head coach made changes, the result didn’t push the score in their favor.
“It could be said that this isn’t a good season for Mesa’s team since they already have accumulated loses against Central Arizona, Phoenix College and Arizona Western College,” said Marcos Pereira, an MCC student and fan. “And now, they lose again.”
In the first half, Mesa held strong by keeping the score as close as possible. Key players stepped up big against the faster Cochise team.
They entered the half only down by nine points.
However, in the second half, Mesa showed signs of fatigue and never gave the needed push to get back in the game.
With less than three minutes to go, Cochise was up by 28 points.
“Cochise wasn’t a strong opponent,”said Tony Gigliotti, another MCC fan. “If the girls don’t start to practice hard and if Kori Stephenson doesn’t change her strategy, we are going to keep losing.”
MCC did end their losing streak four days later as the lady T-birds beat South Mountain 79-65. It was the team’s first win in over a month.
Mesa’s next home game will be on Feb. 9, against Yavapai College.
They also play Phoenix College on Feb. 20. Both games will take place at 5:30 p.m.
Mesa beat Yavapai earlier this season 83-76, but lost to Phoenix College 78-65 two weeks ago.
