On Sunday, December 11th, the Kent girls varsity basketball team faced a tough opponent as the Berkshire Bears came to take on the Lions.    

The game opened promisingly with a basket from Dani Baylor ‘19.  However, the odds quickly began to fall out of Kent’s favor.  After Baylor’s jump shot, Berkshire unleashed a barrage of two-pointers putting the Bears ahead by four.

Kent responded with a quick series of jumpers to try and equalize the game, but nothing was falling. The Bears’ defense contested or blocked nearly every Kent shot.

In addition to their coordinated man-on-man defense, Berkshire capitalized on crashing the glass; more than a quarter of their points resulted from offensive rebounds.  Although not performing to the best of their ability, highlights for Kent included Megan Landrigan ‘17’s drawn foul at 18:58, Liz Clarke ‘17’s off-balance midrange jumper, and Fifi Duncan ‘19’s impressive layup while surrounded by the Berkshire defense.

Only two games into the season, the Lions have hopes for improvement this season. Despite having lost four key players to last year’s team, Kent gained a great deal of young talent.  For instance, Dani Baylor ‘19 is a new recruit this year who Coach Duncan thinks could become a star this season.

The team also inherited new leadership in Megan Landrigan, Liz Clarke, and Denise Beraketab ’17.  They aim to reinforce Duncan’s emphasis on confidence and teamwork: “Individually, I want the kids to get better, and I also want them to become more confident with the ball under pressure. I want the kids to play together.”