Lady Wolves earn first win

Following a rough 11-1 loss to Jackson March 25, the Lady Wolves dug deep and came out with a shutout win against Powell Saturday, winning 3-0.

For head coach Chris Nielsen, the win shows that their goal of targeting specific issues to address and working on them throughout the practice week is paying off.

During the game, Nielsen said the girls showed improvements to their control of the ball, building three or more possession strings through their games last week compared to earlier games where they were unable to accomplish a single string.

"We're really starting to move the ball well," Nielsen said. "That's the best part."

The next week gives the Lady Wolves a break from competition, but that doesn't mean they won't be working hard on the practice field. Nielsen said he still wants to focus on the girls' defense, wanting to adjust the team's defensive shape. He believes the girls are still too flat when they're playing defense and wants to see them more active whenever they're on the defensive. Another focus continues to be conditioning as many of the girls are playing two games each day, one for the junior-varsity squad and another for varsity.

"A majority of the girls have played 160 minutes each weekend we've played," Nielsen said.

The girls can often be seen running around the track at Green River High School on practice evenings, with Nielsen timing them. During a mile and a half run Tuesday, Neilsen said many of the girls were able to cut one or two minutes from their previous times. This means the girls should be more equipped to play longer as the season continues.

"I'm just proud of the first win," he said. "Now we can start chasing our goals with a little more belief."