The Spartans were unable to tame the Bulldogs Friday as the Bainbridge High School girls varsity basketball team fell 78-52 in their first game ever against the visitors from Garfield High.

Though it ended in disappointment, the game actually got off to a good start for the home team and Spartan Head Coach Nicole Hebner said later that the first quarter was the best for the Spartans.

“They kind of out-hustled us,” she said.

BHS led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter, but they would quickly find themselves trailing behind the visitors early in the second.

By the end of the half, the Bulldogs led 42-28, a points deficit which proved too much for BHS to overcome.

With just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Garfield had pulled ahead to 56, with the Spartans stuck at 30.

The game entered its final quarter with Bulldogs significantly ahead (66-40) despite a slight offensive upswing by the Spartans.

The Bainbridge points leader was once again sophomore guard Taylor Tye, who managed 15 total.

Senior guard Paige Brigham contributed eight points and junior wing Katie Usellis finished the night with seven.

Carly Lant, Kiera Havill and Kayla Buchmeier each scored five points.

With this loss at home, the Spartan season record fell to 2-2.

Garfield currently boasts a 4-1 season record.

The Spartans would next face off on the road against Holy Names Academy Wednesday, before returning home to host Seattle Preparatory at 6:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19.

Hebner said that the Spartans played a good game, especially early on, but aggressive rebounding was clearly an area in which Garfield had outplayed them Friday.

“We have to get better and we know that, but mainly the things that are killing us right now are rebounding and turnovers,” she explained. “We have to control the board and we have to take care of the basketball and if you don’t do those two things it’s hard to win.”

Hebner credited Garfield with being the more overall athletic team of the evening as well.

“We kind of gave in to their traps or their defense a little bit,” she said. “But we did some really good things tonight as well. The first quarter we played really, really solid basketball and if we can replicate that and continue to get better we’re going to be good.”

Brigham, one of the team’s three co-captains, agreed that the first quarter had been the Spartans’ best.

“I thought we had a lot of energy coming into the game,” she said. “I know we were nervous because we know they’re really fast, which is usually what we think we are.”

“I think we really put our whole heart into it most of the time,” Brigham added.

“We just need to focus on more fundamental stuff,” she said.

Discussing rebounding, which both Hebner and Brigham agreed was the fundamental area in which Garfield clearly dominated throughout the game, Hebner said that a player’s height was not the deciding factor that most fans may believe it to be and even though Garfield brought some taller players, it’s heart that reclaims basketballs.

“Two of the best rebounders I’ve ever seen come out of Bainbridge High School were 5-foot-10 or below,” Hebner said. “It’s all about wanting the ball, wanting it more than other people.”

Overall, Hebner said, this year’s Spartan squad is performing very well and she expects nothing but improvements.

“I think we’ve done a lot of good things,” she said. “Offensively, we’re getting better. We’re putting up more points than the average last year.”

Brigham agreed, saying that she believed the team already possessed the skill necessary to be successful and that it was only a matter of buckling down to work.

“Moving forward from this, I think we can take away [that] we have the energy there and the passion,” she said.

“But now we just need to think about our decisions a little bit more before we make them.”

After hosting Seattle Prep, the Spartans will face off against North Kitsap and then Franklin High before hitting the road for their next two games.