The York Catholic girls basketball team really didn’t know how to react when they lost its first game of the season and had the 61-game win streak snapped. Coach Kevin Bankos was fine with that.
“It’s not something we want them to get used to, so its OK for them to now know how to do this,” Bankos said after Saturday’s loss.
Now it’s just a matter of making sure they don’t forget how to win.
After a pair of easy victories over Hanover and Littlestown, the Irish face a significant challenge against... wait for it...
Northeastern. Amber and Autumn Lau and the rest of the Bobcats invade the York Catholic gymnasium Friday night looking to hand the Irish their first regular season league loss since the 2004-05 season. Northeastern lost a one-point game to Delone Catholic on Monday, but followed that up with a 50-46 victory over Eastern York. The identical Lau twins are combining to average over 40 points per game, and will be salivating at the chance to knock off the Irish.
York Catholic won by nine points when the teams met last month, but the situation is different now. The Laus are improving with each game. The aura the Irish carried with the win streak has disappeared. The pressure is still on York Catholic, who have destroyed their YAIAA Division II competition for the last three years. I think its safe to say that this one will be closer.
And even though the Irish have a two-game cushion in the Section 3 race and a spot in the YAIAA league tournament, this game is important for the Irish. If they win, it’s business as usual. But if they lose, they could end up feeling just as disoriented as they did after the Trinity defeat.
Bankos told me in December that the season doesn’t start until February. That still makes Friday’s contest a valuable exhibition that should provide telling evidence of where the Irish stand entering the playoffs
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