In a season full of close games that have been decided by a final shot, it felt only right to have the final one conclude in the same fashion.
The women’s basketball team played in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday against Widener. While the fight from the squad was evident, the Mustangs (10-15 overall, 7-7 Commonwealth) lost by a final score of 66-63 against the Pride (20-5 overall, 11-3 Commonwealth).
Fourth-year forward Tessa Boswell pulled down 8 rebounds while second-year guard Janiya Ennis led the team with 5 assists on the game. However, the unquestioned star of the match was second-year guard Anaya Price, who logged 30 points in the game on a scorching-hot 10/16 shooting overall with three 3-pointers.
Through her ability to stretch the floor and even draw contact for some foul shots, the Mustangs were able to maintain a lead through the first three quarters. The game was not out of reach for either side, as things never loomed particularly large in terms of distance. However, with a set defense complementing their heliocentric play, they were intent on getting the job done to close out the season.
“I just keep my head up, I stay in the gym, I know that what I can do can be really helpful for this program,” Price said.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in a 4-quarter scenario that flips back-and-forth consistently, and the Mustangs weren’t perfect through the game. Overall, they lost the battle in the paint, not being able to offer much resistance as Widener had a 36-16 advantage in the restricted area.
During an 8-2 run in the 4th quarter, Widener was able to force a key 24-scond violation on a rushed shot by first-year guard Mina Hashemzadeh to steal a free possession. They also stamped their stronghold in transition and off of turnovers, reaching 24 fast break points and 24 points off of turnovers.
Those proved to be momentum killers for Stevenson, and if not for this team’s energy and effort, those could have ended the game right then and there.
The loss was a tough one, as it knocked Stevenson out of MAC Commonwealth playoff contention due to the conference record tiebreaker. Widener is set to advance as the #2 seed.
“Our season in one word- courageous,” head coach Jackie Boswell wrote in an e-mail. “I put together a very tough out-of-conference schedule, and our team never backed down from that challenge. If they got knocked down, they got right back up consistently to the next practice and faced the next game.”
To end up in these close matches and rarely come out on top can get demoralizing after a while. However, you can’t say that they went down without a fight. The seniors on this team will certainly be missed.
“They’re a special group,” Boswell said. “In this day and age with the transfer portal and things like that, it’s really hard to keep a large group like that together. I’m really proud of those 5 seniors for sticking together and sticking with us as a coaching staff. Hopefully, they leave their mark on this program to the younger players.”
