By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Justin Leith would have loved to have had his Stuart Country Day School girls basketball team come away with a championship at the school’s own Stuart Invitational., But even with an overtime loss in the final to Kent Place, Leith and the Tartans entered the new calendar year content with where they are right now., “It’s a learning experience,” the Stuart coach said after his team fell to 9-1 with a 48-42 loss in the tournament final. “I did not come into the season expecting to go 27-0. I told the kids after the game that this is perfect because we’re looking to peak at the right time and this was an opportunity to expose some of the things we need to do better. Obviously, boxing out. Maybe we need to shoot some more free throws in practice. We had some defensive breakdowns that hurt us. And that’s fine with me. I don’t expect to be playing our best in December.”, Stuart had run off seven straight wins entering the tournament and then topped Capital Prep and Princeton before falling to Kent Place in the championship game. Jalynn Spaulding scored 22 points and Bey-Shana Clark added 14 in the championship game loss., “Defense is the thing,” Clark said after the loss in the final. “We work hard in practice on our defense and then we execute on offense. We come into every game saying because of our defense and we work hard we can do well. We just have to focus on our next game and go from there.”, With Spaulding and Clark, the Tartans have a pair of strong players to build around. The team has made strides each game since the start of the season and loss to Kent Place was another step forward for the team., “It is a nice start,” said Leith, whose team was scheduled to face Nottingham on Thursday. “I know it is a cliche, but I don’t care about the winning right now. We did what we had to do. We didn’t have the strongest schedule to start, which is fine. Every practice and game is a learning experience and we’re just trying to get better so that when we get to February we are prepared., “When I was in high school (at Princeton Day School) and we won the Prep A, we finished the season 13-12. I kind of thought that was how this season was going to go. That year we progressed and progressed and progressed and got better and that was how we won. That’s what I am looking for these girls to do.”, Stuart’s nine wins all came rather easily, with the closest game being a 19-point decision. leith knows the schedule gets tougher from here on in and hopes his players continue to improve as the season goes along., “It’s a learning experience and I am happy to have the learning experience,” he said. “The girls were fighting and they were hungry and there are things we can work on in practice and then next time when we see this team we can win it. And most importantly, when we get into the Prep Bs and the tournament time we’ll be able to be at our best.”, Spaulding and Clark each had big games in the loss to Kent Place. They are in their second year playing together and are meshing well on the court., “We see each other on the court and we’re able to pass the ball to each other,” Clark said. “We always seem to know where each other is on the court.”, The tournament overall was a success as nearly every game went down to the wire. Princeton and PDS each went 1-2 in the tournament., “I loved it,” Leith said. “I was so happy that PDS and Princeton were able to come out. We had one weaker, less experienced team. But overall, I think all of the games were competitive. It was a lot of fun and the experience was awesome. I hope to have everybody back next year.”
