As the Lady Atoms entered the Herndon High School gym this past Friday, Dec.13, hopes were high for the girls to turn around their slow start to the season.

A win would not come easy, and the girls would have had to be at the top of their game to pull out a win.
When tip-off time came, the Lady Atoms were eager to start strong and add their name to the win column.
However, things did not go their way against the Hornets.

The Lady Atoms came out cold in the first half, missing shots and lacking defensively.

The Atoms barely could come out of the first half with 10 points. Scoring only around 9 points at the end of it.
The Hornets had the advantage from the jump and refused to give up their large lead to any efforts from the Atoms.
Although the first half was not what the Lady Atoms had hoped for, their second half performance was significantly better than their first half.

The Atoms scored over half of their points in the second half.
Despite not making the content close, the Lady Atoms turned around their shot making troubles and defensive intensity.

Reflecting on their latest loss, head coach Fawn Tucker had both positives and negatives to discuss.

“We could have played more aggressively on the defensive end from the start, as well as capitalized off of missed scoring opportunities,” Tucker said.

Tucker also recognized the struggles the girls felt in the second half, despite playing significantly better.
The mental aspect of a poor first half definitely took a toll on the girls.

“The toughest part was being down at half time while knowing that we should have been up” Tucker said. “Fundamental mistakes caused us to not be.”

Tucker reflected on the improvements the girls made and how they ended the game on a high note.

“Our comeback from behind in the 3rd and 4th quarters stood out the most” Tucker said. “We began to allow the game to come to us which helped us find our groove.”

Despite a crushing loss and a slow start to the season, the Lady Atoms hope to bounce back against Robinson tonight.

Robinson has only won one more game then the Atoms so there is hope of a better chance for success.

In Robinson’s recent stretch, they were able to beat Yorktown, a team the Atoms failed to beat, and Westfield, a team the Lady Atoms will face later in the season.

The Lady Atoms have a chance to play Robinson again during an invitational tournament coming up in a couple weeks.

So if they cannot win tonight’s, they have a shot for revenge or possibly a two game sweep.

Even so, the girls will need to be firing on all cylinders to content Robinson’s game play.

“The main focus for our next game will be to continue to play our game our way,” Tucker said.