The Silver Creek girls’ basketball team — missing most of its parts from the last two Class 3A title game runs due to graduation — got a baptism by fire in a contest against powerful Louisville (Ky.) Sacred Heart in the first-ever Kentuckiana Summer Basketball League Outdoor Night on Friday.

“Matt (Denison) called and said it’s a benefit for the (Floyd County) Parks Department and I said WE’RE IN,” said Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen. “He said you’re going to play Sacred Heart and I said WE’RE OUT.”

Schoen — ever the jokester — was kidding of course.

Sacred Heart won 57-32 but Schoen couldn’t care less about the score.

“The opportunity to come out here and help the parks department and the opportunity for our girls to play outside — we had a great crowd. It was super fun.”

“It was a great setup,” Schoen said. “And, some of our girls have never played outside before.”

Schoen said his team is a work in progress and he’s excited.

“Our team competes and plays hard,” he said. “There are a lot of things we can fix. Of the 16 kids here, I’ve only physically coached about 14 of them. They’re getting used to me and I’m getting used to them. They all have about the same skill set and it’s a good skill set.

“We’re starting off with the best team we’ll see all summer and probably all year,” Schoen said.

“It’s not about winning. It’s about our kids playing basketball and getting used to each other.”