The MVHS girls basketball team won 46-41 over the Wilcox Chargers on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Despite a dominant start and a 27-17 halftime lead, the game tightened in the last three minutes, but the win was secured by clutch shots from senior Alana Hernandez. Leading the way, she scored 24 points throughout the night and was head coach Xavier Cook’s player of the game.
“Most of the time, she is in double figures, averaging 18-20 a game,” Cook said.
Wilcox was 3-0 in the league entering this match-up, which makes the win very important, Cook said. He said that he believes the team will continue to get better as the season progresses, especially as they work to recover from injuries as well as get back into their best physical condition.
“We are trying to fill those spots here and there and get as many minutes as we can from everyone on the team,” Cook said.
Hernandez said the team was able to play off of each other’s strengths which led them to hit some important shots down the stretch.
“Something we did good was… trusting our teammates to get open and hit some shots, ” Hernandez said.
She said the team can work on its press break while she personally needs to focus on assessing the defense when she has the ball, slowing down, and taking her time to get an open shot.
Cook said he believes the team needs to go back to the basics, working on getting into shape and staying composed throughout the game.
“We had a lot more good than bad… but we are trying to learn how to play 32 minutes,” Cook said.
