Girls varsity basketball has been dominating the court so far this season, but spectators have also gotten a glimpse of some sophomores and juniors demonstrating what the program has to look forward to in seasons to come. After losing a surplus of seniors from the team last year, returning varsity players have had to adjust to the addition of new players.

To start up the game against the Santa Margarita Eagles on Jan. 5, Carlsbad’s very own senior, Mackenzie Fink sang “The Star Spangled Banner” to get the crowd ready for the event.

“The teams are looking very evenly matched this year, it’s gonna be a great season,” junior Tyler Liebentritt said.

Senior Kim Wynn scored the first basket of the game for Carlsbad. The Lancers fell behind early in the first quarter, but later prevailed with a comeback from a seven point deficit, ending the first quarter at a score of eight to ten, Eagles.

“Scoring the first basket is always a good start to the game and gets you pumped for the rest of the game,” senior Kim Wynn said.

Showing that Lancers never give up, the girls overcame Santa Margarita and in a very back and forth second quarter, the Lady Lancers took the lead 14-13 with six minutes left in the quarter. The teams were evenly matched at that point, and neither team could pull far enough away to clinch a substantial lead. Due to the Lady Lancers perseverance and hard work they tied 20-20 at the end of the half.

“Being tied into halftime gives a fresh start to the game for the teams to come out hard and ready to go,” junior Dominique Liebentritt said.

The Lancers scored first in the third quarter making it 22-20. Things were looking good for our Lady Lancers, but Santa Margarita fought back and took a demanding lead by the end of the third quarter with a score of 26-36.

“We just worked hard and kept getting better,” junior Tyler Liebentritt said. “Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough for this game because Santa Margarita is a real powerhouse.”

Santa Margarita advanced their lead in the fourth quarter by scoring nine unanswered points until the Lancers scored their first basket of the quarter. Dominique Liebentritt led the Lancers in scoring with nine points in the game. Although the Lady Lancers fought valiantly, it was not enough to beat Santa Margarita. The game ended at 30-49, Santa Margarita came out with the victory.

“We don’t look at today as a loss,” Tyler Liebentritt said. “We look at it as a big fat L for learn.”