Worth County's girls won consecutive games for the first time since 2008 and beat Albany 57-46 despite being shorthanded, playing without Rebecca Moore (bruised hip) and Rikki Hunt (concussion). Albany showed a lot of improvement and did a lot of things that they didn't do in the first meeting between the two teams, but Worth County was able to play through it and get the win. It was also the first time in many years the Tigers scored back to back 50 point efforts.
Worth County scored the first six points of the game off their press. But then Albany began running up and down the floor and breaking the press at will, keeping right up with Worth County. The teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter, with neither team able to take control. Sydney Thummel scored seven points in the quarter for Worth County as she was able to drive to the basket at will. Kaitlyn Davidson added a putback and an inside shot off an inbounds play while Claire Andrews added a baseline shot and Kristen Andrews got a steal off the press.
The Tigers tried different looks at Albany, but the Warriors continued to get up and down the floor at will, fighting back to tie it at 21 as their outside shots started to fall. Finally, Worth County got some offensive boards to pull away and take control late in the first half, taking a 29-22 lead. They made an adjustment in the second quarter, switching back to the 1-3-1 that they played much of the first part of the year; they were able to bother Albany with that look. Kacey Smyser had six in the period for Worth County and Kaitlyn Davidson had four as the Tigers were able to work their post game as Albany was playing without rebounding machine Morgan Combs. Haven Schottel added three and Claire Andrews one.
The third quarter has been a problem for the Tiger girls this year, but this time they were able to outscore Albany and get it into double digits. Albany began whittling away, cutting the deficit to six off a Kristie Sorenson free throw to make it 33-27. But then Kristen Andrews hit Haven Schottel for a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run for the Tigers to make it 41-27. Haven had six points in the quarter; Albany was playing zone and doubling Worth County's post players hard, but that left Worth County's guards open for much of the night. Claire Andrews scored five in the quarter off two backdoor layups and a free throw, Kristen Andrews scored a driving layup, and Kacey Smyser added a free throw.
Frustration began to show for Albany as they picked up an intentional foul as one of their players pushed Sydney Thummel in the back and she made one out of two free throws. The Tigers took full advantage of their free possession as Danielle Funk hit Kaitlyn Davidson backdoor and then Haven Schottel hit a free throw to make it 47-31.
Albany got some new life as Destiny Wilmes got the hot hand for them as they fought back to within 47-36 with 5:38 left. They continued to chip away as Kelsey Sorenson scored off a steal to get it under double digits with five minutes left. But Worth County kept their composure and hit some free throws down the stretch and Albany was not able to get any closer than 9. Haven Schottel had six points in the period, mostly off free throws. Sidney Thummel had four and Kaitlyn Davidson and Kacey Smyser had two each.
Without Rebecca Moore, Worth County had to stay out of foul trouble and they did for the most part and everyone else picked up their offensive production. Haven Schottel led the scoring with 15, a career high for her. Sydney Thummel added 11 and Kaitlyn Davidson had 10; Worth County had three in double figures. Kacey Smyser had 9, Claire Andrews had 8, and Kristen Andrews had 4. The Tigers play their Courtwarming game Friday against Princeton.
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