Excelsior Springs’ final home varsity girls basketball game of 2025 – a 63-39 loss to Maryville – “was not one of our better nights,” according to coach JD Biermann.“I thought, early, we had some opportunities that we squandered,” Biermann said minutes after the Dec. 17 defeat. “And then, we just fell behind and never really got our legs underneath – never really got into the game. And it just kind of snowballed on us.”Slow starts have been an issue this season, Biermann and senior Josie Casler agreed.“I’ve got to do something different to get them prepared to start games better,” Biermann said. “I think we improve as the game goes on, most of the time. But we’ve got to get better out of the gate.”Casler attributed Excelsior Springs’ slow start against Maryville to the Tigers being “a little stunned by their full-court defense.”“I’ll give it to them,” she said. “They we...