Homecoming events always pull in a good crowd, but often the actual games are not that interesting to watch. However, this year’s Winter Homecoming basketball games against Kingman were an exception. In both the male and female games, the Cardinals came very close to beating the Eagles. The games took place on Feb. 5, with the homecoming ceremony following the boys game.

The girls team, now short on players from an injured player and others quitting, still gave Kingman a run for their money. Although the ending score was 27- 41, throughout the four quarters the girls came close to overcoming the Eagle’s score. 

“The game was really intense. Pressure was definitely on,” said junior Allyson Lange. “I think we are a really young team with a lot of lack of experience on the court, but we are rounding it out.”

The boys varsity game followed the girls varsity game, but their results were  much closer at 41- 45. During the third quarter, the Cardinals surpassed the Eagles and were leading for a short time. 

“We switched up our defense to get more steals in the third quarter and were able to pull ahead for a bit,” said senior Cole Schulte. “It didn’t work for very long, which really diminished our momentum as a team. We learned that we work better in a zone defense instead of man.”

The game was close until free throws in the final seconds allowed the Eagles to cement their win.

“It was crushing to lose because we were all really motivated to win for Homecoming,” said senior Riley Fisher. “We’ve had a lot of close ones this year.”

Schulte took the final shot to hopefully get a closer score, but missed.

“I had to get a shot up because no one else was shooting. I knew we had a few points to go, but I wanted to get us some more time,” he said.