The varsity girls basketball team struggled against Grayslake North on Friday night. The Sequoits went into the game with two previous losses, but they were humbled and still hoped for a win. After a long, hard fought game, the Sequoits fell to the Knights.

“We expected to be evenly matched up with them and hoped to come out with a win,” junior Erin Miller said. “We struggled both with scoring on the offensive and with stopping some of their better players from scoring on the defensive end.”

The team didn’t play up to their full abilities and had to try out some new strategies. After halftime, the girls came out looking brand new. 

“The first half of the game we were trying to keep up with them because they were controlling the game,” junior Allyson Pierce said. “In the second half, we started to take control by using our tall girls to our advantage.”

Although the girls were looking a lot sharper in the second half, it wasn’t enough to catch up to the Knights, losing the game 41-32. The players learned that they have a lot to improve on defense and that they should not overthink; instead, they should rely on their instincts. Despite the previous losses, the team is looking for success next week in the annual four-day Lisle tournament. 

“To fix our mistakes for our upcoming game at Lisle, we are working on staying low on defense and the simple fundamentals of basketball,” junior Jada-Ashley Shaputis said. “I think we are going to do very well if we can just stay out of our heads and focus on the game itself.”

The Sequoits are solely working on their skills for the next week in order to leave it all out on the courts starting December 26.