The Oyster River girls’ basketball team looks to win in a hostile environment this Friday, taking on rival Coe-Brown in a packed away gym. Can the Bobcats overcome the Bears in the Route 4 rivalry?
Oyster River High School (ORHS) (11-5) girls’ basketball plays Coe-Brown Northwood Academy (CBNA) (8-7) this Friday. To prepare for this rivalry game, the Bobcats have been watching film and learning how to break CBNA’s patented 2-2-1 zone defense that they run every year. With a rivalry game and packed student section comes increased pressure and energy. The Bobcats, however, are not phased.
The Bobcats understand that this game means a lot, not just because of the rivalry. CBNA has shown that they are a competitive team in Division II. “As a team, we know that there are rivals, and we know that they have a similar record to us right now. They’ve beat some of the teams that we beat, but they’ve also beat some teams we haven’t,” says guard Sarah Ellsworth (26’).
However, it’s not just a team battle for the girls. “We’re all going to go into it with a lot more like emotion. You know, there’s some personal battles with the girls, especially after all these years of playing against each other,” says Ellsworth.
Even with the famed rivalry, Oyster River looks to stay composed. “I mean, yeah, our bench is definitely a lot more hype, especially since it’s a rivalry game,” said Willow Horne (‘25). But when we go into the game, we act like it’s any other.”
To win, ORHS has been preparing the whole week.” We have been trying to know their plays and get to know them as a team,” said Horne. “Watching film, learning their plays, knowing how they can score the ball.”
To know how they play, the Bobcats must learn how to break Coe-Browns’ 2-2-1 zone, which is used to disrupt the flow of the game and tries to make teams take bad shots and make bad passes. “We have to slow the game down and play our offense well,” said Ellsworth.
The aspect of rivalry seems to draw attention from school supporters as Oyster River vs. Coe-Brown always gets a packed student section. “It’s just a different energy in the student section,” says avid Bobcats basketball fan Una Bleckmann (25’)
Bleckmann noted that it’s always a good game whenever there is a Route 4 matchup. “When it’s a bad game, or like the team isn’t that good, it just kind of boring. But when it’s Coe Brown, no matter what sport, it always gets real.”
After CBNA, the Bobcats look to close out the season with a win in a potential championship preview against a strong Lebanon (15-2) squad.
-Mairtin Sweetman
Images courtesy of Gabi Selig
Mouth of the River 
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