There is an adage that spans the parlance of the battlefield to the chessboard to the gridiron: the best defense is a good offense. Well the Potter’s House Pumas set out to prove two things on Friday night at “The House.” The first was that the age old phrase fits the confines of the hardwood and that the inverse of the popular colloquialism is also apropos: The best offense is a good defense.
The Lady Pumas dominated the court with defensive pressure running the length of the gym and were able to keep the visiting Grand River Prep Titans from crossing halfcourt for what seemed like the majority of the game. Wave after wave of fresh players left the bench and entered play to continue the defensive onslaught, which generated fast break points on the offensive end. That in turn gave the Pumas a sizable advantage early in just the first few minutes of play and they made sure to never look back again.
The pressure proved too much for the Titans and the Pumas gave Potter’s House its first varsity victory of the Homecoming festivities.
Potter’s House was not done celebrating after the teams left the floor and the Puma faithful welcomed and honored their 2021 state champion soccer squad with a post-season highlight film and championship banner reveal. The spotlight glowed on the fresh vinyl and generated even more energy to the already raucous crowd.
Then it was the Puma boys’ turn to bask in the spotlight.
Despite being heavy favorites, the Pumas struggled to settle into the flow of the game early on and fell behind the Titans in the first quarter. However, a big second quarter run gave the Pumas the advantage going into half and some adjustments at the break broke any hopes the visitors had of playing spoiler in night’s finale.
Potter’s House was able to generate significant pressure all over the court and played with such ferocity and energy that, at times, it felt like they might have had eight defenders on the court. Like in the previous game, this pressure gave the Pumas high percentage looks on the offensive end and absolutely crushed the Titans in the second half.
The game entered mercy rule territory and the clock ran out, giving the Pumas the incredible 79-34 homecoming victory.
