Hardwood Heroes
Federal Hocking bags their first win of the season against Southern Tornadoes
By: Maria Monesi, Payton Brooker
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STEWART, Ohio (WOUB) – It has been a long wait but Federal Hocking finally did it, the day that it has been waiting months for finally came, the first win of the season.
Federal Hocking finally got back on the court Saturday after cancellations and postponed games due to COVID-19 and snow on the roads. There was no better way for the Lady Lancers to return to action than with a well-earned 53-37 win.
“We haven’t as a team put together 32 minutes,” Federal Hocking coach Amos Cottrill said. “We have played 25, 26 (minutes) and have been close in a couple games but tonight we played a full 32 minutes.”
A strong start with a 17-4 end to the first quarter was exactly what the Lancers needed in the beginning of the game. Despite that strong start, Federal Hocking knew it needed to continue to dominate the entire duration to find success.
They did just that with forcing turnovers and making crucial shots in moments that they mattered the most. A player with a huge impact with that, senior Alexis Smith. Although Smith had ten of her 13 total points in just the first quarter alone, her third foul came in the second quarter and she found herself sitting on the bench. It wasn’t easy for her to be on the sideline but getting back to gameplay felt good.
“We haven’t played in forever,” Alexis Smith said. “It’s nice to come back and actually win one, it’s been awhile since we won.”
The turnout of the crowd for the Lancers was huge and even better was them being able to bring home a win. Having the boys team there, and a variety of people up in the stands bringing energy helped the team but it also brings something more than that.
“It has always been that every time we break (that) we say family,” Cottrill said. “That’s been a long time, it’s not something I started, it is just something the girls have always been a part of so having the boys here, the community we started to believe that.”
For the Lancers, they have plenty of games still left to prove what they can make happen moving forward.