After 4-4 season start, U-Hi girls coach reviews strengths, weaknesses
Mark Stinson is looking forward to Christmas.
“My two sons came with me to practice today,” he said Monday following a morning practice session with his University girls basketball squad. “Now we’re going Christmas shopping. Wish me luck!”
A two-week holiday break comes at a good time for Stinson and the Titans.
U-Hi has four wins in eight games, with losses to both Central Valley and Lewis and Clark in Greater Spokane League play – teams the Seattle Times has ranked among the Top 5 among Class 4A teams in the state.
Lexie Hull scored 39 of CV’s 49 points in a 49-35 win over the Titans.
The Titans struggled in a 59-24 loss to LC before the break in which the Titans struggled mightily shooting from the outside and the Tigers defended exceptionally well inside.
“We weren’t sharp,” Stinson said. “We definitely discovered that we have things to work on. We came back and played better (Saturday) against Gonzaga Prep (a 42-33 win).”
For starters, the coach said, Gonzaga Prep doesn’t have a guard like LC’s Riley Lupfer.
“And we shot the ball better against Prep,” he said. “It helps when you shoot the ball better.
Stinson said he was surprised by CV’s 49-44 win over LC on Saturday.
“LC has a veteran team and thought they’d give CV a tougher time,” he said. “But they will play again and then play again in the postseason. They’re going to get sick of playing each other. They’re two really good basketball teams.”
The LC game exposed a few areas where the Titans needed some work.
“We had practice (Monday) and worked hard on some things we needed to fix. I think that helped.
“Now we just have to make it a habit.”
After Tuesday’s practice, Stinson gave his squad seven days off from basketball. His team will be on its own to get into the gym to shoot around and stay in shape – a break from most seasons where the team has a nonleague game or two on the schedule.
“We played in a tournament, so that took care of our nonleague games,” Stinson said. “I want the girls to enjoy their Christmas. I know I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve always hated the day after Christmas. You always feel fat after eating all day Christmas Day and you just don’t want to go to the gym and practice basketball.”
Stinson said he’s not concerned
“One of the things I’ve noticed over the years coaching girls is that, for them, it’s so much about the journey,” he said. “They do a great job of keeping the focus on the team. They have team dinners at each other’s houses and doing things together as a team.
“These days, every kid seems to have a membership to a club somewhere, and I trust that they’ll do what they have to do to stay in shape and be ready to get back to work Dec. 30.”
University has six seniors on the varsity, and the rest is made up of sophomores. No juniors and, surprisingly, no freshmen.
“We usually have at least one freshman who plays their way onto the roster,” Stinson said. “But that didn’t happen this year.
“Our seniors all bring something special to this team. And when you have seniors, you tend to know what their weaknesses are and you kind of try to steer away from those weaknesses. It’s harder to do that with sophomores because they, and you, don’t necessarily know what those weaknesses are.”