Northeast Nodaway's girls jumped out to an early 17-2 lead against Princeton and made it stand up against the blue Tigers as they advanced to the second round of the South Harrison Tournament last Tuesday. Princeton made a comeback bid in the second quarter, coming to as close as nine, but a strong third quarter for Northeast turned back the rally and they cruised to victory, 55-38. The game was not as close as the final score indicated as Princeton left their starters in against Northeast's second string in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.
For Northeast, it was one of the best ballhandling teams that they had faced this year; Princeton surrendered the ball a season-low 18 times against Northeast. Even South Harrison surrendered the ball more against Northeast, giving it up 26 times. This forced Northeast to find other ways to win the game; however, they succeeded by running their half-court offense as sharply as they had all year and by containing the guard duo of Felisha Bertrand and Cassie Teeter, who were constant threats to take it to the hole.
Blair Schmitz (14 points) opened the scoring for Northeast by getting behind the Princeton defense and getting a feed from Jacqueline Schulte (15 points) for the layup. This was a constant theme -- Princeton's guards would constantly try and attack the basket and rely on their offensive rebounding to clean up on misses. However, when Northeast controlled the boards, as they did in the first, third, and fourth quarters, that meant there was nobody back on defense and their transition game was still there. Michelle Schulte (13 points) then got back to back steals; the first time, she fed Kristin Sherry for the layup and the second time, she connected on two free throws. Michelle Schulte then got behind the Princeton defense for a layup to make it 8-0.
At that point, Blair Schmitz and Kristin Sherry, two of Northeast's best rebounders, picked up their second fouls and had to sit out; that meant that Princeton was able to control the boards for much of the remainder of the half. But after Shelby Bennett got a layup after a loose ball caromed right at her, Jacqueline Schulte went on a personal 9-0 run to give Northeast some badly-needed cushion. She started off by posting up inside and scoring; she followed with a drive and a 3-point play; she then got a steal and drive, and then connected from the right baseline after an inbounds play to make it 17-2.
Princeton began chipping away, getting a free throw from Bennett, a drive and pullup from Teeter, and a steal and drive from Bertrand to cut it to 17-7 with 51.7 seconds left. Blair Schmitz came back in at the start of the second quarter and gave Northeast some scoring punch to counter Princeton's offensive rebounding game. Michelle Schulte and Emily Bryant both connected from the left wing to make it 21-7. The teams traded scores for much of the next few minutes, with Schmitz hitting a pair of inside shots and four free throws to put Northeast up 29-14 to match its biggest lead of the game. But then Northeast began missing some good looks on the offensive end and struggling on the defensive glass as Princeton started to come back. Bennett scored from inside, Teeter got a free throw, and Danessa Derry converted a 3-point play in a 6-0 run that got the lead back under double digits. Jacqueline Schulte got loose on the weak side with 23 seconds for Northeast, but Shelby Bennett countered from the right wing to put Princeton to within 31-22.
Princeton had every reason to think they had the momentum, but both Schmitz and Sherry were smart enough not to get into any more foul trouble and the Bluejays put a clinic on against Princeton's defense. On the other end, Northeast would hold Princeton to one shot and out, meaning that the blue Tigers' game plan of getting drives by Teeter and Bertrand and medium range shots simply meant quick scores on the other end. And the Bluejays forced the left-handed Teeter to go right and the right-handed Bertrand to go left; the Princeton guards were not nearly as effective with their off-hand as they were with their dominant hand.
Hallie Oelze opened the scoring for Northeast with a shot from the left wing to start an 8-0 run to begin the third quarter. Kristin Sherry followed with a shot from the left baseline, followed by a fast break from Jacqueline Schulte. Blair Schmitz got left alone for an 18-footer from the top of the key, a big mistake as her sweet left-handed shot was nothing but net. Danessa Derry countered by getting behind the Northeast defense for a basket, but the backbreaker came on the ensuing possession. Michelle Schulte connected from the left side and drew the foul; she missed the free throw, but Blair Schmitz was there for the rebound and she went to the rim for the four-point play. That left Northeast up 43-24 at the 4:11 mark, and the rout was on. Following a stop, Blair Schmitz threw a long outlet to Michelle Schulte, whose layup went in. Michelle Schulte added a free throw and then Jacqueline Schulte had a nice cut to get open and drew contact with her runner and made both free throws. That left Northeast up 48-24 after three quarters of play.
Emily Bryant cut straight down the middle of the lane and made the layup to open scoring in the fourth quarter. Michelle Schulte showed some stubbornness of a good kind when she got behind the Princeton defense and but missed a layup. She got her own rebound and missed again. This time, the ball went to the other side of the basket, but she ran over to wrest the ball from a Princeton player and this time, drew the two-shot foul and knocked down both her free throws. Kenzie Waldeier added a free throw and later connected from the right baseline to give Northeast its biggest lead of the night at 55-26.
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