Palisade vs Summit and Rifle

Here at Palisade, our dogs are always sure to produce electric games, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. Roaring crowds, high action, and outstanding plays are something we can always expect at each and every game. Our incredible Basketball Bulldogs have been hard at work, practicing to perfect their technique and strategy, and it shows. At the beginning of the Basketball season, our girls varsity dogs took a tough loss against Rifle High School in a tournament, but were able to come back swinging at their last game. The girls battled hard, sending the game all the way to overtime, and secured a close win of 33-31. Braeleigh Macaskill and Addie Ritterbush played hard through this game, and earned the achievement of being the players of the game. Addie, a full-time varsity sophomore, has been playing basketball in second grade on a rec team, and has been playing ever since. She’s played travel basketball for three seasons and has been playing for seven years. In her eighth grade year, there was no girls basketball team offered at her school, but this was no setback for Addie, as she instead played on the boys team. As one of our toughest players, it's no shock that she ended the Rifle game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. When asked about her highlights and areas for improvement, she said, “In the game I focused on being a team player and I shot pretty well that game. I need to get better at improving my defense and not letting my girl drive to the middle to score.” Teamwork is an incredibly important aspect of the sport, and can be essential to making smart plays and scoring more points. Our boys basketball team also played the Rifle Bears, crushing the other team by securing an impressive win of 56-19. The Rifle Bears stood no chance against our scrappy Basketball Bulldogs. The following Thursday, January 10th, our Bulldogs traveled to Summit Country, Colorado, to face the Summit High Tigers. Our girls varsity team worked their hardest, but lost by 9 points. Though Summit was an aggressive team, the girls held their own. “We are definitely improving and I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes.” Addie says. It's important for our athletes to be able to learn from a loss, and continue to improve their skills based on past mistakes. Our basketball team has proven that they are able to do this, and come back stronger for their next fight. The boys varsity Dogs also played the Summit Tigers, and racked up another win. The boys ended the game with a score of 54 to 48, completing their second win of the new year. Both teams play again this Saturday, January 15. We are expecting packed stands and roaring crowds, so make sure to be there to support our incredible team. Go Bulldogs!