Team unity leads Lady Pirates to winning start

“Our biggest strength right now is the team unity,” Cyprus girls basketball coach Josh Adams said. “They are definitely together and very focused. They have been playing that way since playing together over the summer.”

The Lady Pirates won their first game on Nov. 22 against Bonneville 56-48. Senior All-State player Lori Parkinson scored the bulk of the team’s points with 18 points total.

After the season-opening victory, Cyprus won its next three games, defeating Hunter 42-35 on Nov. 29, Olympus 44-27 on Dec. 6 and Cottonwood 44-37 on Dec. 7. Through four games, Parkinson averaged close to 12 points per game, while Caputo wasn’t far behind at 11 points per outing.

The Pirates lost their first game against Bingham High school 59-48 after Bingham took a 16-point lead in the second quarter on Dec. 9. The team went on to win six of its their next preseason games. They won their first regional game against East by an almost 20-point lead 58-39 on Jan. 10.

“There is a high expectation for our team this year, in part because of Lori Parkinson,” Adams said. “We cannot replace her. She is a once-in-a-coaching-career forward.”

Parkinson played varsity ball as a sophomore. The only game she didn’t start was her first game. She came off the bench her second game and has been starting ever since.

“Lori has progressed a lot, but she has always had off-the-charts athleticism,” Adams said. “She has led the state in rebounds for the last two years.”

Junior Julie Caputo added the rest of the points against Bonneville with 15 points. Caputo returned to Cyprus this year after playing for Skyline for a season.

The team’s specific goal is to win the state championship. The players plan to accomplish this goal one game at a time. Little goals have been set to focus on that. Adams hopes that the big goal will result with a region win as well.

The team’s guard plays have improved from last season, according to Adams. They have also cut turnovers down quite a bit, which is one of their small game-to-game goals toward reaching the state championship.

It’s a smaller team this year, made up of mostly sophomores, juniors and freshmen. Only one senior is a starter. Most of the girls will be returning next year.

The Lady Pirates currently rank ninth in the state. The Region 6tournament will be held at Salt Lake Community College Feb. 20-25.