Strong I vs. Strong II

Some people were calling it, Strong's first team against Strong's second team. I won't go that far but clearly, Camden Fairview had a whole lot more firepower than Strong Thursday at the Farmers Bank & Trust Tournament.
The Lady Cardinals cruised to a 61-34 win and the game wasn't that close.
Fairview coach Ronald Rogers didn't even press the Lady Bulldogs, which I thought was especially nice since the press is what the Lady Cardinals do best.
A lot of folks were looking forward to this game. I wasn't and, apparently, neither were the players.
The pregame and postgame hugs had more intensity than the 32 minutes of action. I'm not saying the girls weren't playing hard but they weren't playing as hard as I've seen them play.
In my hundred years of covering sports, I've come to the conclusion that most girls don't like to compete against their friends. I'm a guy and, like most guys, I play just as hard against my friends as I do any other opponent - probably harder.
But, for some reason, girls don't know how to leave it on the court. My brother and I have had knockdown, dragout battles where blood was literally left on the court. It never affected our relationship off the court.
I guess competing comes more naturally for some. Most boys understand the rule, when you step on the court, you play to win. When the game is over, everything that happened on the court, stays on the court.
With that being said, I hope Fairview and Strong don't play each other again this year. The Lady Bulldogs didn't come to win. The Lady Cardinals didn't come to dominate.
As much as I did enjoy the sportsmanship on both sides and the care the players had for one another, I would've also liked to have seen the players get after it on the court. Believe it or not, you can do both at the same time.