On Friday December 8th, girls varsity basketball was challenged by Miss Porter’s in a game that ended with a score of 32-69. Despite the disheartening loss, the girls fought hard until the last minute of the game.

In the first few minutes, Kent gave up 4 points to Miss Porter’s before slightly slowing down Porter’s offense. Then with 14 minutes left in the first half, Sascha Botero ’21 earned a beautiful free throw off a foul, followed by Dani Baylor ’19 sinking a 2-pointer. Then, FiFi Duncan ’19 drew a foul for Kent and flawlessly sank both of her free throws.

Baylor earned another 2-pointer for Kent with only 9 minutes left, closing the gap to 7-13. At this critical moment, Coach Nuffer called a timeout to boost team morale. Unfortunately, the girls ended the half with a score of 11-40.

During the second half, encouraged by loud cheering and waving of the energetic fans, the girls were able to make a bit of a comeback. Botero scored two quick layups in a row and Molly Garrahy ’20 scored another with 12 minutes left. Then, Baylor earned a 2-pointer, assisted by Sarah Gavin ’19. The crowd went wild with the sudden surge of points. However, the gap between the teams was too big for Kent to catch up, and the game ended 32-69.

After the game Captain Duncan commented, “It was a tough game, and we realized that it’s not about losing but how you end the game. We kept up the intensity until the final buzzer and didn’t give up.”