Springboro Dismantles Xenia

            Today is Saturday, January 9, 2016. Currently, I am sitting inside of Xenia High School’s (XHS) Blue Pit Gymnasium. In just mere minutes, the Lady Buccaneers’ Basketball Team will be squaring off against Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC) South Division counterpart The Springboro High School (SHS) Lady Panthers. Before I get into game coverage, please allow me to state the following. I am going to tell you exactly how the Lady Buccaneers’ last, three, Home Games ended. On Tuesday, December 22, 2015, “The Battle Of Xenia” took place. XHS faced off against Xenia Christian High School (XCHS). Four Quarters of Regulation Time were not enough. The game went into Overtime Play. When the game finally ended, XCHS arose victoriously. The Final Score was 68-66. On Tuesday, December 29, 2015, XHS lost a close game to Wilmington High School (WHS). The Final Score was 45-32. This past Wednesday, January 6, 2016, the night was different. Instead of coming out on the losing end of a game, XHS won! By the Final Score of 61-49, XHS defeated West Carrollton High School (WCHS).

            Do you know what the Lady Buccaneers’ last, three, Home Games all have in common? If you do not know, please allow me to tell you. Yours truly (Darryl L. McGee) was not present for any of those games. Due to previously-scheduled work commitments with “Xenia’s Word On The Street” (www.xeniaword.com), I was unable to attend the games. There is a pattern developing. Whenever I attend one of the Lady Buccaneers’ games, the team gets blown out. Whenever I miss a game, the team does well and/or possibly wins. Is it possible that I am “Bad Luck?” To be honest, I do not know the answer to that question. In order to answer that question, no proper method exists. Therefore, the question is basically a matter of one’s own opinion. There is no right or wrong answer. Springboro won the game’s tip-off. As the game got underway, each team missed a Shot Attempt. At 7:14, the Panthers’ Breanna Graham scored the first points. She nailed a 3-Point Basket. SHS took an early 3-0 lead.

            After Xenia turned the ball over, Springboro went on a 5-0 Scoring Run. Kasey Hughes hit a 3-Point Basket. At the 5:54 mark, a Timeout was called. In all aspects of the game, SHS has full-control of this game. The Panthers are doing nothing wrong. The Buccaneers are doing nothing right. I have no criticism of SHS whatsoever. I cannot think of anything which the Panthers are doing wrong. Less than a minute after the Timeout ended (5:14), XHS committed a Turnover (Traveling Violation). From 3:56 to 2:49, SHS went on a 6-0 run. XHS committed 2-Turnovers. With 2:25 remaining in the 1^st Quarter, the Buccaneers finally got onto the scoreboard. Ella Welsh made a 2-Point Basket. Eighteen seconds later (2:07), SHS’s Molly Schoenlein made a 2-Point Basket. During the play, she was fouled. After she successfully made 1-Foul Shot, the Panthers possessed a 17-2 lead.

            During the 1^st Quarter’s final 1:43, Xenia committed 3-Turnovers. Springboro committed 1-Turnover. The Panthers outscored the Buccaneers 5-2. With no time remaining on the clock, Graham nailed a 3-Point Basket. At the end of the 1^st Quarter, Springboro leads Xenia 22-4. What can I really say? The score speaks for itself. Springboro has been near-perfect. As the 2^nd Quarter got underway, Xenia had possession of the ball. The Buccaneers were unable to score. At 6:17, the Panthers’ Lauren Thomas made 1-Foul Shot. The second Foul Shot was missed. However, the Panthers managed to commit an Over-The-Back, Loose Ball Foul. From 5:43 to 3:11, the Buccaneers committed 3-Turnovers. The Panthers turned the ball over once. SHS went on a 7-0 run. At the 3:05 mark, a Timeout was called. SHS leads XHS 30-4.

            Shortly after the Timeout (2:32), Graham nailed a 3-Point Basket. After Xenia’s Trinity Morton made a 2-Point Basket, the Buccaneers went on to commit 2-Turnovers. From 1:45 to 58.1 Seconds, Springboro outscored Xenia 6-2. Kelly Wurth scored 4-Points. During the 2^nd Quarter’s final 45.9 Seconds, each team scored 2-Points. Infiniti Carr (XHS) and Graham (SHS) scored the points. Going into the Halftime Break, Springboro led Xenia 41-8. Once the game got underway, I was surprised. Why, you might ask? For the first couple of minutes, the Buccaneers were looking like they were going to hang with the Panthers. That did not last long. All good things must eventually come to an end. Springboro truly impressed me with its court awareness. The Panthers’ positioning is top-notch. The Panthers were always in the right spots at the right times. The basket area was like a magnet. It would just easily bring Springboro’s players to it.

            The Panthers’ footwork and passing are near perfect. No person, place, and/or thing is perfect. Therefore, I will not say the attributes are perfect (without any flaws). In the 1^st Quarter, Springboro’s mistakes were almost non-existent. That’s exactly how low they were. In the 2^nd Quarter, the Panthers' mistakes increased. The level of mistakes was not at an alarming rate. Unlike Xenia, Springboro was not drastically affected by its mistakes. Springboro remained a strong force that smothered Xenia’s Offense and kept the Buccaneers from accomplishing anything. During the Halftime Break, I had to exit XHS’s Blue Pit Gymnasium. Due to a previously-scheduled commitment with “Xenia’s Word On The Street” (www.xeniaword.com), I had to leave. In order to cover a Men’s Basketball Game on the campus of Central State University, I had to make the short trip to Wilberforce, Ohio. At the end of the Springboro vs. Xenia Game, Springboro High School obtained a commanding victory. The Final Score ended up being 65-22.