Six Flames Carry the Team to an 84-42 Win

Bethesda University women's basketball coach Patty Medina has been forced to the drawing board to create some unique plays this season for a Flames' team that has found itself outnumbered on the court. Injuries have knocked an already slim roster down to just six players. That means each player must play an average of 30 plus minutes on game night.

While Medina prefers a pressing full-court style, her team has had to revamp how it approaches play the remainder of the season.

"It's tough, but you play the cards you are dealt," Medina said. "We're not pressing and getting those transition buckets as much as we'd like — it's a matter of managing fouls and fatigue."

The best example came in the team's regional game, when the Flames relied on their full-court style to build a 22-7 first-quarter lead over Saint Katherines College. But with early foul trouble and no fresh legs to take the court, the Flames had to ease off in the second quarter. Eagles responded and cut the lead to 37-21 going into halftime.

 "We started to feel tired at the end of the second quarter, but you have that comfort that you know you have halftime coming," Senior guard Victoria Jackson said. "Really, I think it's mostly mental. We have to believe that we can do it."

Betheda found itself pulling away the second half with a 55-31 lead at the end of the third. The Flames escaped with a 84-42 win. The Flames forced 24 turnovers with their on-and-off press which lead to 29 points off turnovers. All six players scored in the contest. Taylor Smalley lead with 22 points, followed by Victoria Jackson who had 16, Gabby Robledo and DQ Townsend finished with 15 a piece. Brianna Davis had a season high 13 and Jadrienne De Leon finished with 3.

The Flames will continue to play pressure ball in bursts, but the depleted lineup forces a more cautious approach, playing a looser brand of defense, careful not to pick up needless fouls early in the game. 

"We have to be cautious about fouling," Smalley said. "Once we get to three fouls, we look at it as if we don't have any fouls to give."

One of the Flames' leading scorers, Estela Gutierrez, was playing through a back pain until it became unbearable in the high-intensity game against a ranked Masters' team last week. After being taken to the ER post game, Gutierrez found out she's suffering a severe back muscle sprain that pauses her season.

"It's really hard — all I want to do is to be out there playing," Gutierrez said. "Now, I'm one of our team's biggest cheerleader. I do my best to support them and keep my head in the game."

Fellow sophomore Nayely Sanchez is suffering from a stress fracture in her back and her status remains unclear heading into the final games of the season.

"It's just something that we're going to have to grind our way through — all of the attitudes have been great though." Medina said.