The MV Girls defeated the Emmaunel Christian Warriors 37-32 on Thursday February 3, 2011 at the Varsity Gym. The Hawks rode to victory on the strength of a dominating 16-6 first quarter then staved off a EC comeback fueled by three (count ‘em, three) three-point bank shots.
Starting the game - Delaney Lonsway (‘12), Jazmine Aldridge-Brownlee (‘12), Genna Danes (‘12), Karla Luketic (‘11) and Kristin Bigelow (’12) – also playing for MV – Yazmin AbdelKarim (’12), Jordan Baker (’14), and Wesley Flaum (’12 – Welcome Back!)
First Quarter MV 16 - EC 6
EC started out in a box and one defense, keying on Kristin. MV played it’s standard 2-3 but also worked the press during the evening.
It’s a surprise to me that more teams haven’t tried junk defenses against the Hawks, but the Warriors would pay for this experiment in the first quarter.
The first issue EC had was the box left the Hawks open for shots from some of their favorite places. Delaney started the game out this way with a three pointer from the left wing.
The second issue was that Kristin was able to get free from her defender and drive to the basket, which she did for the next two points in the game.
The Hawks played pressure defense early on, forcing several turnovers by EC.
Back to that box zone – first Delaney hit a two pointer from the left side, then Karla, with plenty of time to line up, swished a three pointer. It was 10-2 Hawks early.
Two free throws by Delaney, then this long two pointer by Kristin…
...plus another two pointer and the Hawks finished their best quarter of the season up by 10.
Second Quarter MV 6 – EC 4
Starting the quarter – Sorry, I was distracted by the sheer awesomenity of the Hawks first quarter and didn’t write the starters down.
Kristin started it off for MV with a two pointer. After two points by EC’s Mymy Allen, Kristin scored two more off a high post pass from Genna.
Near the end of the half, Delaney made the defensive play of the game, blocking a Warrior layup from behind on a fast break. At the half, MV led 22-10.
Third Quarter – MV 9 – EC 9
Starting the quarter – initial game starters
MV started with good movement on defense, illustrated by this stop and fast break
On offense, MV also moved the ball well, including these two plays
First, a good pass out from Jasmine to Kristin
and a longer sequence ending with a Delaney 2 pointer.
Both teams played back and forth basketball during the quarter. EC started to pressure further out near the end of the quarter realizing time was short. MV effectively handled the press, and battled the Warriors to a draw. At the end of three, it was MV 31 – EC 19
Fourth Quarter – EC 13 – MV 6
Starting the quarter – Kristin, Karla, Delaney, Jordan and Jasmin
Coach Mussery was able to teach a few new schemes and plays during the quarter. For a two minute stretch, the Hawks were able to work a diamond passing arrangement to run clock against the 2-3 zone.
He also got the team to run a few effective high post plays, including this set ending with two points for Jasmine.
At the two minute mark EC switched into a half court man press defense which created some turnovers for EC. And as noted in the game summary, the Warriors hit three three-point bank shots in the middle of the quarter to make things moderately interesting.
But MV hit some key free throws down the stretch, aided by the student cheering section.
The Hawks were never up less than five and that's how it ended - 37-32.
Final thoughts
A great game for MV, which scored more points in the first half than they did in the entire first game at EC. They neutralized the Warriors’ inside game by collapsing on the ball handler deep inside the paint. They also played effective press defense and even got some quality possessions running the high post offense.
Now at 5-9, the Hawks face more TAAC opponents in their drive to finish in fifth place for the year. The home game on Thursday, February 17 vs. Cardinal Stritch will be key.
Scoring
Kristin Bigelow scored 21 to lead all scorers on the evening. Delaney had 11, (a season high), Karla had 3 and Jazmine 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment