Younger girls could get more playing time for Somerset basketball

• Madison Wall

Somerset freshman Madison Wall (22) looks to pass the ball into the post during Friday’s game.

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After losing five straight games to start the season and showing a negligible amount of progress, changes could be coming this week for the Somerset girls basketball team.

The fifth of those losses came last Friday when the Spartan girls were overpowered by Baldwin-Woodville 65-32.

The Spartans struggled from the outset with Baldwin-Woodville’s full-court pressure. The Spartans had double digit turnovers in the first quarter and the total was above 20 in the first half. At halftime the Spartans were trailing 40-11 and B-W’s lead grew to 56-17 by the end of three quarters.

Coach Kendrick Livers made the decision to turn the start of the fourth quarter over to the freshmen who have been playing on the varsity roster. The Spartans suddenly were playing with a spark that they hadn’t shown yet this season. With the freshmen doing most of the scoring, the Spartans outscored the Blackhawks 15-9 in the fourth quarter.

Livers said the fourth quarter showed him the freshmen are ready for a bigger role in games. He said the one senior who also showed that she’s improving was Anna Siggens.

Livers said he was given the assignment of building a successful program. He said the seniors collectively have not shown the progress the coaches had hoped to see, while the younger players on the roster have been upping their game. Livers said there will still be a role on the team for the seniors, conceding that the immediate challenge is rebuilding their confidence.

Senior Sadie Gilbertson led the Spartans with six points on Friday. Freshmen McKenzie Erickson, Samantha Flandrick and Baily Paulus each scored five points.

The Spartans have two more difficult Middle Border Conference assignments coming up in the next few nights and both games will be on the road. The Spartans will be play at Prescott on Friday, followed by a game in New Richmond next Tuesday.

Tags: sports, somerset, spartans, basketball, prep