Northeast Nodaway's girls threw a scare into highly-touted Tarkio before falling 42-38 and then beat Stanberry 34-24 in a defensive gem in action last week as they get ready for the Northwest Missouri Tournament this week.
The Tarkio game was close all the way as neither team led by more than 5 points for the game. Northeast dug themselves into an 8-3 hole as they were missing a lot of free throws, but then Holly Redden shot them back in it with a 3-pointer and they fought back to trail 10-8 at the end of the quarter following an inside shot from Taryn Farnan.
Brianna Riley played some of her best ball of the year in the second quarter as she caught the Indians napping on defense with a backdoor layup and then scored off a Kerrigan Adwell steal and pass from Claudia Wiederholt as Northeast led 17-16 late in the first half. Claudia was shaken up following a hard foul, but she came back in and finished the game.
Northeast was rebounding as well as they had all year, but they needed to draw more Tarkio fouls and convert their chances at the line; they needed to work on spacing and finish the fourth quarter strongly. They fell behind 27-22 after three quarters of play as they were too tentative on offense, but once again, Holly Redden shot the Bluejays back into it, capping an 8-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers to put Northeast in front 30-27 with 5:45 left in the game.
But then Abby McEnaney, cousin of Northwest Missouri State women's basketball player Denise, hit a pullup 3-pointer to put Tarkio back up 34-32 with under three minutes left; it was the same sort of play that Denise would make all the time. Taryn Farnan was tabbed to guard McEnaney in a spur of the moment decision by Coach Vance Proffitt right before the game. Northeast discovered that they had one of the best on the ball defenders in the area in Farnan, who kept Abby from lighting things up from downtown and kept her from driving to the basket and was able to stay out of foul trouble. But she was on the bench when McEnaney hit her pullup; she had been shaken up a few plays before.
Northeast fought back to tie as Farnan came back in with 2:24 left. They fell behind by 38-35 with 1:34 left, but then Farnan's free throws made it 38-37 with 1:15 left. Tarkio was called for traveling with 59 seconds, but then put on a press and Northeast threw a pass away with 53 seconds left. Sometimes, putting on a surprise defense can throw a team off right when the pressure is at the highest. But Tarkio missed a one and one with 49 seconds left and then Dallis Coffelt's free throw with 40 seconds left tied it at 38.
Dallis' second free throw was off, but she had a good look at a putback try. But the shot that would have put Northeast up by two did not get the roll and Tarkio had a chance at the last shot of the game. But then in an eerie scene reminiscent of last year, Taryn Farnan got a bloody lip in a collision with McEnaney with 18.1 seconds left and had to come out. It was a scene similar to two summers ago when Kristan Judd blew her knee out on the last play of regulation playing against former Bluejay coach Ryan Davis' Lexington squad as Northeast was trying to protect a tie and force overtime; it was even on a similar spot on the court, near the right corner. Fortunately, Farnan's injury was much less serious and she played Friday night's game against Stanberry. However, the rules require a player who is bleeding to come out of the game. McEnaney was able to drive to the rim and get a foul and hit both free throws with 15.4 seconds left with Farnan on the bench and Claudia Wiederholt's 3-pointer that would have put Northeast up by one was well short of the rim before McEnaney's free throws iced it.
Northeast landed seven in the scoring column that night. Taryn Farnan led the scoring with 12 points, a career high. Holly Redden had 11, also a career high. Dallis Coffelt had 5; Brianna Riley had a career high 4 points. Kerrigan Adwell, Jill Spire, and Claudia Wiederholt each had two.
The JV won 18-10 as they were hitting everything that night. Brianna Riley carried the squad as she had six points, three steals, and two assists. Dallis Coffelt provided a spark as she put Northeast up to stay in the second quarter with a shot from the top of the key and a coast to coast layup right off the bat. Allie Runde also had four. Kacey Wiederholt and Bailey Judd had two each.
Northeast struggled at the line in both games, shooting 9 for 20 against Tarkio and 8 for 23 against Stanberry. But they still found a way to win against Stanberry, beating the Bulldogs 34-24 as they were able to get Stanberry into foul trouble and their post game was effective. Dallis Coffelt had a career night against Stanberry, getting 8 of her career high 11 points in the first half as Northeast built up a 16-11 halftime lead. Taryn Farnan continued to be a relentless force on offense, doing whatever it took to draw contact and referees' whistles on the other team, getting a career high 13. She had 11 in the DeKalb game and 12 against Tarkio and she got 13 against Stanberry, just as she had predicted. This could mean that she is due for 14 in the first game of the Northwest Missouri Tournament.
Northeast struggled against the Stanberry press and advancing it was more like soccer, with its repeated throw-ins. It was a rough game with multiple tieups. But Northeast played one of its best defensive games of the year, rarely allowing Stanberry easy looks at the basket even on second and third chances. Kristan Judd played for the first time since injuring her knee two summers again, which will add to Northeast's depth. Claudia Wiederholt had 6, Brianna Riley had 2, and Kerrigan Adwell and Jill Spire had one each.
No comments:
Post a Comment