Extra Points: Taptich Takes Lead for Yorkville

Monday night’s 45-39 loss to Kaneland was tough for the Yorkville girls basketball team.

After more than a week of down time because of blizzard conditions, the Foxes fell flat on their faces in the early going against the Knights. Yet, top scorer Jenny Taptich, a team captain for Yorkville, thinks the Foxes can learn something from the setback.

“I think (the break) affected our game because in practice sometimes we won’t play as hard-core as in a game, and that’s a problem,” Taptich said. “I think we need to come in with a mindset that it’s just another game, and we need to pull out all the stops in the beginning, but we just didn’t do it today.”

Taptich, who led the Foxes’ third-quarter charge against the Knights that nearly turned the tide, said the halftime pep talk of Yorkville coach Luke Engelhardt motivated the girls.

“Well, our coaches were saying how we needed to pick it up and needed to step up and I thought, as a captain and leader, that I should try to lead this team,” Taptich said. “Don’t worry about the first half. It's already done. We need to look forward to the second half and it can be a whole new game, and that’s what it was.”

However, Taptich takes responsibility for the loss and thinks she should have displayed more consistency throughout the game.

“I think I should have done way better to be honest,” she said. “My shots weren’t falling, and instead of forcing them up until they did I should have just kept passing. I guess I found out the hard way.”

With another game at Yorkville against Sandwich on Tuesday night, Taptich thinks her team can right the ship and notch a victory. She’s already thinking about eliminating the mistakes she made against Kaneland.

“I think if we just keep moving the ball, passing it and looking for good shots and openings then our game should go well,” she said.

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