YORKTOWN, Ind — From the beginning of Monday’s game against Hoosier-Heritage Conference opponent Pendleton Heights, Yorktown head coach Leigh Ann Barga wasn’t sure if her team’s mindset was in the right place.
”We weren't ready from the tip,” Barga said. “Offensively, we struggled in every aspect. We just gotta pick our heads up.”
After falling to the Arabians 69-50, the Tigers said the same thing.
“I definitely think we had a couple of communication errors,” Junior Lilly Sylvester said. “…We missed some cues there, a lot of it was just unforced errors.”
With the Tigers only featuring one senior in Claire Hazen, the green and white believe games like this can be important for developing a good team. With Arabian’s senior Kaycie Warfel — the program’s all-time scorer — leading the way with 23 points, it was tough competition Yorktown had to defend.
But even with the young roster, Yorktown sits at 6-4 and showed flashes of potential in the game. Sophomore Olivia Conklin led with 21 while junior Lilly Sylvester added nine. However, an Arabian’s 21-7 second quarter performance became the difference maker.
“I feel like we're building right now,” Conklin said. “We’re just getting started.”
According to Barga, one way for the team to continue building a solid foundation is to look at Hazen’s work ethic.
”That girl never complains,” Barga said. She comes in to practice and she works her tail off.
She’s not gonna go out there and score 25 points. That's not who Claire does, but what she will do is guard the toughest player and give all she's got.”
Hazen — who competed on Yorktown’s volleyball team the last four years and played in the Class 4A State Championship game last fall — is someone the Tigers have used to be the glue player on and off the court.
“She's my favorite person to be around,” Sylvester said. “She's always got a smile on her face. She could hit her head on the floor and she'd laugh it off.“
But to Hazen herself, she’s tried to be a leader in the simplest way: with her play.
“I try to lead by example a lot,” she said. “I think I need to do a better job, maybe becoming more of a vocal leader.”
The Tigers want to use the rest of the season for growth. However, they also want to find success. To them, both can go hand in hand.
“We are young, but at one point, you gotta stop using that as an excuse,” Barga said. “We have some girls that have gotten a lot of playing time… but the game is fast and they’re learning. They all are.”
The Tigers will search for the win column when they face Triton Central Friday, Dec. 27 at 10 a.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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