The Mainland Eagles women have had a successful start to their tour of the United States, boasting a 5-3 record and finishing second in the Green Valley Christmas tournament.
Playing against teams primarily from the Las Vegas area, the Eagles swept their first four games before losing to Santa Fe High School, of San Diego, by six points in the tournament final.
Coach Mark Dickel said the team had to adjust to a faster-paced game and had played a high-intensity, pressure game.
''The adjustments are ours to make to improve our game to match a faster-paced US game,'' he said.
''Our defensive pressure and hustle are restricting opposition teams offensively.''
He was pleased with the way the team had stuck together and how different players had stepped up at different times.
''It has been pleasing the way this team has stuck together as a unit and fought hard for all of the game,'' he said.
''We have played a lot of games against different opponents, and different players from our team have stepped up in different circumstances.''
He said the players had learned a lot about their games, particularly through playing bigger, older opposition and training with Foothill High School, one of the best high school teams in Las Vegas.
Aleisha Ruske and Tessa Morrison have been standout performers, averaging 16 and 14 points per game respectively.
Both were named in the Green Valley Christmas Tournament team.
Dickel thought that both girls, along with Nicole Ruske, could play at division one colleges in the US. Other players in the team could do well at division two level, he said.
The Eagles took a day off to visit the Grand Canyon before preparing for a match against the highly ranked Bishop Gorman High School team.
