After a full 32 minutes of play, Yorktown secured a win as the Tigers defeated Delta 46-30.
This win improves Yorktown’s record to 4-1 and grants them their first conference win of the season. Delta’s record falls to 5-3, gaining their first conference loss.
In the opening minutes of play, the Tigers were unable to find their footing, struggling to produce offensively, and were unable to create stops on the defensive end. The Eagles capitalized on this, taking an early 8-3 lead.
“We came out and we tried a little too hard,” Yorktown head coach Leigh Ann Barga said.
This changed fast, however, with Yorktown calling a timeout to recoup. Soon after, they took a lead into halftime, after beginning to create good shots for their teammates. Along with this, the Tigers showed up defensively, not allowing as many looks from the Eagles and defending the paint.
“Once we got settled, we played the way we play… it felt good,” Barga said.
This momentum followed the Tigers into the half, where the Eagles could not produce against the strong defense, henceforth crumbling under the pressure.
One of the key players in Yorktown's victory was sophomore guard Lilly Sylvester. After overcoming a first-quarter slump, Sylvester erupted in the paint on both ends of the court.
“The first quarter was a little rough on my shot, but I feel like my team did really well moving the ball and getting up the court,” Sylvester said. “Eventually, the ball got to me and my teammates and we did a great job.”
Another key player on the Tiger squad was sophomore guard Addy Barnes. Like Sylvester, Barnes also had a shooting slump until she changed the momentum of a game with a three late in the first quarter. This shot gave the Tigers the lead they held for the rest of the game.
“You honestly can’t get in your head about anything,” Barnes said. “You just have to keep telling yourself when you miss, you’re going to hit the next one. This win honestly felt amazing and I’m so proud of my team.”
Barga echoed Barnes and could not be more excited for the rest of their season. She says though they are young, they have a lot of potential.
“The difference is we’re young and we’re learning,” Barga said. “Each day, each game, we learn more. We’ve been getting better every game, so we just try to take it one game at a time.”
Yorktown next plays Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Lapel. The game is set to start at six p.m. Delta plays Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Winchester. The game will start at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu.edu or on X@thetrinityrea.
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