This piece was submitted by Karlie Brockman (10, J&C)

The varsity girls’ basketball team beat Portland Christian 79 to 14 on Monday, Dec. 2 in their first official game of the season. 

“I am excited to finally be back on the court playing the sport that I love,” Anna Littlefield (12, HSU) said.

Manual started off the game quickly with Ayanna Stroud (10, HSU) scoring two points. Manual then followed by scoring another two points. Portland Christian scored two points from a penalty shot. By the end of the first quarter the Crimsons were up 23 points. 

“This season I think we have the potential to go very far with the talent we have, all we have to do is stay on track and keep improving,” Stroud said. 

In the second quarter, players flew across the court as Manual worked consistently to gain possession of the ball. By halftime Manual was up 11-51. 

“We played really hard, though we made a lot of mental errors when it came to playing today. For the upcoming season, that’s something we’re going to need to work really hard [on],” Kennedy Lee said.  (10, VA). 

The first game of the season can be unexpected, but Manual ensured the season started off with a win. 

“We’re young, we have four sophomores and four freshmen. So, the future’s bright for us and we’re just gonna have a little growing pains here and there,” said Jason Bragg, Portland Christian’s head girls basketball coach. 

Both coaches are happy with their team’s performance and hard work.  

“We’ve got a lot of things to work on still but I’m proud of how hard they played tonight,” said Jeff Sparks, head coach of Manual’s girls basketball team. 

Sparks and the team are excited for what the upcoming season will bring, and are prepared to take on more games. 

“With this being my senior year, I want to accomplish as much as possible with this team. I know we are going to do great things this year and be very successful,” Littlefield said.