Dear Mrs. Kerr-Dineen,

I am writing to you in regard to the First Girls Basketball game against Northampton School for Girls on November 23rd.

This match was our toughest match so far and it ended in a 31-57 loss to Oundle School. Even though it was difficult, and Northampton School for Girls played brilliantly, this game allowed us to work on our defense, offense, and communication. We decided to employ a 2-2-1 defensive stance which meant that we essentially surrounded the area nearest to the hoop. We had 1 player up at the front to guard the person bringing the ball down, the 2 middle players were there to prevent the ball from getting too near the hoop and the 2 players at the back would defend opponents who decided to drive to the hoop. We played the best defense we had throughout the season and throughout the game, the coordination of our defense improved.

The first half of the game ended in an 18-27 to Northampton School for Girls. After the first half, we realized that we were rushing, and we were losing the ball too much due to carelessness. Therefore in the 2nd half of the match, we decided to bring the ball down in a much slower manner so that our team had the opportunity to set up an offensive position. The offensive position we employed was 5-out, where all 5 players of the team would surround the 3-point line. From there, the person who had the ball would pass it on to one of the teammates and cut in to either receive the ball or return to outside the 3-point line. This would be repeated until open space was created so that a shot could be taken. Carrying out this offensive tactic allowed us to slow down the play and make good use of court space.

Stand-out players in the game included Marla Jeffreys, Elisa Kuang, Proud Limnarong, and Season Fung.

This was Marla Jeffreys first game of the season and she made some brilliant cuts, used the court space effectively, and scored 6 points. In addition to this Elisa Kuang and Proud Limnarong both displayed excellent offense with Elisa Kuang scoring 11 points (including one 3-pointer) and Proud Limnarong scoring 4 points. Both Elisa Kuang and Season Fung, who scored 2 points, stole the ball multiple times and always made sure to rebound the ball. This was crucial to the many turnovers throughout the game. This game was also Tiggy Mathieson's first basketball game and as the game progressed, she became more comfortable with the ball and became more confident when dribbling and passing.

Although this was a really tough game and our opponents were great at driving to the hoop, it was a great experience and we all had a fun time. The performance we put on in this game was our best so far and there was much to take away from it.

Sincerely,

Unne Fung