(LEFT) Sheridan’s Sadie Timme scored 10 points for the Blackhawks during their game with Delphi on Thursday. (RIGHT) Freshman Marah Fausset scored six points for Sheridan. (Richie Hall)
Sheridan falls to Delphi, look to stay focused
By RICHIE HALL
SHERIDAN – The Sheridan girls basketball team has been going through a transition this season.
The Blackhawks are a very young team, with eight freshmen on a roster of 13. While Sheridan has been winning games, the young Hawks are still learning, and the lessons continued Thursday when Sheridan fell to Delphi 55-42 in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game.
“They’re learning,” said Blackhawks coach Jaidlin Bradshaw. “They’re willing to learn and they are doing the things we ask. It’s hard to play with eight freshmen and only five returners on our team. That’s what our team is composed of this season.”
The Blackhawks and the Oracles were tied 6-6 after the first quarter, but Delphi took control in the second period, scoring 17 points for a 23-13 halftime lead. The Oracles led 45-29 after three quarters.
“We’re just not shooting the ball very well,” said Bradshaw. “People probably think we don’t ever shoot the ball in practice, but we get a ton of game-like shots up. We just haven’t found a way yet to focus and lock in and put the ball in the basket in games.”
Sheridan’s returners have experienced success, as they were part of the Blackhawks’ two-year run of 45 wins and back-to-back regional titles. The veterans did the majority of the scoring: juniors Brielle Garner and Sadie Timme both had eight points, while senior Makenzy Terry scored seven points.
The freshmen had some promising moments during the game. Marah Fausset scored six points, all in the second half. Olivia Long and Delaney Bell both added four points.
Bradshaw called the team’s youth “a blessing and a curse.” While Sheridan is having to take some lumps now, Bradshaw believes it will be “good for us in a couple of years,” once the team has a little more experience.
“We work on it a lot in practice,” said Bradshaw. “We do a lot of attacking the basket. We are really fortunate we have Hudl Assist, and just looking at the data and looking at where we score the ball really well is at the rim, so trying to get more of those high-percentage shots is our goal.”
The Blackhawks have three more games left before competing in Sectional 39, which takes place at Lapel this year. Sheridan is scheduled to play at Seeger Saturday afternoon then play two HHC games to finish the regular season, at Clinton Central on Tuesday and home against Taylor on Friday, Jan. 30. Sheridan is 3-3 in the conference.
“We’ve been emphasizing to the girls that [the conference games] matter and that they’re important,” said Bradshaw. The coach said now the goal is to keep the team “mentally tough and mentally focused for however long we get to play.”
