By Maggie Devereux

Executive Sports Editor
Tied 33-33 midway through the fourth quarter, it looked as if it was anyone’s game Friday at Pack the Place  as the varsity girls’ basketball team took on Meadows. Meadows hit a 3-pointer with a little over five minutes to go to take the lead 35-33.
The remainder of the fourth quarter was fought hard  by the Knights but unfortunately produced little success. The team scored a total of 2 points from there on compared to a Meadows 8. The Knights fell to the Mustangs 35-43.
Although the team lost, they started out leading Meadows 22-21 going into the second half. Then, Meadows out scored the Knights in the third with 9 points compared to Prospect’s 6.
“I thought we came out strong,” sophomore Michele Molini said, “but then we rushed ourselves too much.”
Molini contributed 6 points to the game, both 3-pointers. Other scorers were seniors Sarah Winans (10), Marissa Pettenuzzo (6), Sarah Hunt (2), Ashley Wabik (7) and junior Maura Benson (4).
One of the biggest weaknesses both Pettenuzzo and Molini noticed was the team’s turnovers. The team had a total of 19 turnovers — mostly a combination of unnecessary passes and traveling violations.
“Every time we turned over the ball, we panicked, and we weren’t able to get it back,” Pettenuzzo said.
Molini also felt fouls were a big issue during the game. The team fouled Meadows a total of 21 times; however, no players fouled out of the game.
“We should have limited the fouls,” Molini said. “The free throws basically gave away the game.”
The team plays at Elk Grove Friday and then travels to Stevenson next Tuesday. Pettenuzzo believes that the team never gave up against Meadows but are practicing harder as the rest of their season unfolds.
“After this loss, we are more determined to come out with a win,” Pettenuzzo said. “We are more energetic about every game, and we’re more determined to get everything done.”