Midland defenders double team Bishop Seabury sophomore Taylor Sweeney on Thursday, Jan 6, 2011 in Lawrence. The Seahawks lost to the Mustangs, 41-12.

On some nights, the bottom of the net can be quite evasive.

Thursday was one of those for the Seabury Academy girls basketball team, who connected for only four field goals in a 41-12 setback to Midland Adventist Academy.

“We’re not lacking defensive intensity or aggression,” coach Becky Bridson said. “It’s just the little things that we’re not doing right now.

“We’re a little frenetic on offense, once we kind of slow things down and become more confident with the ball, I think that shots will start to fall.”

The scrappy Seahawks were indeed stout on defense, forcing 31 Mustang turnovers.

But coupled with 37 miscues of their own, including nine-straight to begin the game, the Seahawks could not overcome their rough evening shooting the ball.

Seabury — led with four points by sophomore Raquel Dominguez and three from freshman Liz Padgett — didn’t score until the 2:24 mark in the second quarter on a free throw from freshman Heidi Dumesich, prompting the crowd and bench to erupt into cheers.

“It’s not about the score, it’s just about how hard everyone was working,” said sophomore Padget Sutherland, who scored two points. “When shots fall it’s obviously amazing, but it’s not all about that.

“We’re having a blast. Practice is always fun, the games are always fun. We might be down sometimes, but we all have each other, but it’s about being with the team and having fun with the team.”

With a roster mostly comprised of players relatively new to the sport, Bridson is realistic, yet brimming with optimism when talking about her team’s growth.

“I told them, it’s baby steps,” Bridson said. “We’re going to get better every single day, we’re going to get better every single game, and they’ve already improved immensely from Tuesday night, our first game.”