| Halee Rasmussen pressures a Wasatch Wasp ball handler during the Dinos first preseason game of the year last Tuesday. |
Even before the Lady Dinos stepped out on to the court this year, the team was ranked as the top dog in the Class 3A standings.
With most of last year”s team returning, the Dinos are favored to dominate the 3A rankings this season. With talent and determination on their side, the Dino team could easily go all the way. But being the number is a tough position to be in.
“Even before we played a game this year, we were predicted to be the team to beat. That makes it rough because everyone is gunning for you and wants to score that win against the best team in the division,” explained Carbon coach Bruce Bean.
Although it is an honor to be ranked the best, the Dinos refuse to let this go to their heads. They understand that the season is long and only time will tell where the Dinos will finish in the standings this year.
The team did kick off the preseason with back-to-back games last week. Just before the Thanksgiving break, Carbon hosted Wasatch Tuesday evening and Ogden Wednesday night.
The first game the Dinos played proved to be a successful one for the talented team.
Carbon played strong against the defending state champions, the Wasatch Wasps. In fact, the Dinos dominated the court as they racked up their first win of the preseason, 54-43.
The game allowed the Dinos to sharpen their skills and prepare for the regular season as they led the Wasps throughout the ball game.
By the second half, coach Bean was able to rotate players in and out of the game. He was pleased that the game allowed most of the players to gain valuable playing time.
The Warburton sisters played well for the Dinos as Chelsey and Morgan combined for 19 points.
Danielle Julian also stepped up, scoring 14, as well as Carbon senior Michelle Ruden whose intensity was a force on the court.
“Ruden came off the bench and really stepped up and played well for us Tuesday night. Her effort was a big factor in the win over Wasatch,” explained Bean.
The following evening, the Dinos came out to compete against the Ogden Tigers. With one successful game behind them, the Dinos entered the second competition with intentions of clinching another victory. This was not meant to be however.
“It was as if we had an alien team out there playing. It was not the same team that had competed so well the night before. Their heads just weren”t in the game,” stated Bean.
Although the Dinos lost to the Tigers by only one point, 44-43, the Dinos learned some valuable lessons.
“We gave up 25 turnovers against Ogden. This is something that we have to make sure we don”t do again. We need to step up on defense. Ogden just out hustled us Wednesday. The Tigers just wanted the win worse than we did and that can”t continue to happen,” concluded Bean.
Being ranked number one in the 3A standings is truly a difficult position to be in. After all, every team is gunning to bring the big Dinos down.