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Photo by Madison Crain

All teams have to play away from home. Some settings are better than others, but it is an advantage to play at home. “Advantages are probably being on a familiar court and getting to go home earlier,” junior forward Emily White says.

At any game there is cheering from the band and the crowd. Cheering can both be positive and negative. When the chants are negative, it can distract the players.

When the girls varsity basketball are playing at other schools, the school will get their band, and their student section to chant or play music. The music and chants distract the players of Stillwater.

With sections and playoffs around the corner, it is an advantage to play at home. The benefits are not having to travel so they have more practice time. Also there are more parents, friends and students that attend home games than away games.

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“Definitely the setting of the court and the lines on the court are hard [to see],” junior forward Emma Murphy said. “We are used to them [fans] cheering for us and that does not happen on away games, they usually do not come.”

The setting makes a difference when playing the game. They are going to a court that they do not normally practice or play on, which is difficult.

Murphy explained, “The band at Moundsview is crazy. It is really echoey in the gym and it is really hard for us to hear the coach when we are taking a timeout. They [the students from Moundsview] get at least two inches away from his [Stillwater coach] face when we are listening to what he has to say.”

“She looks nervous”, “Oh my God!”, “What is she doing”, “Wipe your shoes”, were just some of the sayings that the fans said to get inside the player’s heads during East Ridge game on Jan. 26.

“The music is a huge distraction because you can not hear anything our coach is trying to tell us and it is just so loud that you can not concentrate on the game,” junior forward Emily White said.

The girls are totally focused and do not let the noise from the bands or fans distract them while they are playing the game. They work well together, communicating and working hard to win. The girls have love and passion for the game of basketball.

Murphy explained when and why the chants/ music do not distract her. “No, not when I am playing, but when I am on the bench yes. Because when you are on the court you are zoned in on the game and you really do not hear anything besides your coach. You kind of distract yourself away from it.”

With sections and state coming up the chants and bands may or may not effect the girls while playing. The key to the girls’ success would be to keep working hard and focusing on the game, not the negative comments.

“It might effect us in a way where we can not hear the plays our coach is calling so one might think he said one thing and another might think he said another,” White said.

“I am not that worried about chants at sections, my team wants to win and they are not going to let a couple of mean distracting chants get in the way of that,” center senior captain Madisen Schmitt explained. “We really do not prepare for chants and stuff, I have confidence that my team will not let it affect their game.”