Worth County’s girls were in a funk following their 20 point loss to North Andrew. They were struggling to get out of the 20’s in shooting percentage, they were turning the ball over, and they were out of sync. But then they showed some life in the second half of the St. Joseph Christian game and held them to eight points in a 45-33 victory as the shooting got a little better and they got a quality win against a team that had beaten King City the game before. They looked to run into a buzzsaw in Mount Ayr, which had beaten down Worth County 60-14 last year. Mount Ayr was just as good this year, sporting an 8-1 record and plenty of horses to throw at the Tigers, like they did last year.
It looked like another long night for Worth County at the start of the game. Shots were fruitlessly clanking off the rim like they were the last few games as Mount Ayr was building up a 7-0 lead just 1:18 into the game. Caylie Hickman hit a 3-pointer and prize post player Sara Winemiller got loose down low once and in transition once for the Raiderettes.
But all of a sudden, the whole complexion of the game changed when sparkplug Keirston Klommhaus picked up her third foul at the 5:36 mark and sat down until the middle of the third quarter. Mount Ayr was a completely different team with her on the floor; similar to Ryan McClellan for Worth County’s boys, she was always pushing the action and making some “how did that go through” plays for the red shirts.
Over the next few minutes, Worth County’s girls suddenly realized they could play basketball with this team and started chipping away. First, Kristin New tipped one to Regan Allee, whose layup put the Tigers on the board. Then, after the scoreboard was frozen at 7-2 for a while, Anna Gladstone grabbed a defensive board and went coast to coast for a free throw. Winemiller’s putback made it 9-3, but then Jessi Badell got a steal and Regan Allee pushed it up the floor. Kristin New missed a layup, but Haley Hunt was there for a putback to make it 9-5.
Mount Ayr burned a timeout and looked like they would reestablish control as Hayley Whittington got going for the Raiderettes and they pushed out to an 18-10 lead early in the second. But Worth County was racking up the tips and steals and holding their own on the boards, and it was only a matter of time before they got going. Finally, Jenna Smith, whose play has been rapidly improving lately, came off the bench and hit Regan Allee twice for 3-pointers and all of a sudden, it was a brand new ballgame at 18-16. Meanwhile, Mount Ayr couldn’t get anything going on the other end as Kaylee McElvain had a field day in the paint, blocking six for the night.
Winemiller’s inside shot made it 20-16, but then Jessi Badell scored a putback and Regan Allee’s third 3-pointer of the quarter put Worth County up for the first time at 21-20. The two teams then fought to a 24-24 tie at the half.
All of a sudden, the conditioning that the Tigers have been doing all year started to kick in and they took control of the game in the third quarter. First, Anna Gladstone cut inside and got a pass from Regan Allee. Anna Gladstone’s pass to Kaylee McElvain was on the money in transition, Regan Allee followed with a steal, and Anna Gladstone added a putback to make it 34-26.
Hickman, who had missed a ton since her initial 3-pointer, suddenly got going and hit a 3-pointer to make it 36-30 with 5:03 left. Anna Gladstone hit Kristin New for an answering 3-pointer to make it 39-30, but then Klommhaus came back in. Her pass to Gracie Mobley somehow got through to make it 39-33, but then she had to sit out with 4 fouls. Mobley’s free throw made it 39-34, but then Anna Gladstone restored order for the Tigers with a drive and Merrideth Spiers added a putback to make it 43-34 with 1:16 left. Early in the fourth, the lead made it to double digits when Anna Gladstone got a tip, Regan Allee got a steal, and Anna Gladstone cleaned up to make it 46-36.
Once again, Hickman tried to carry the Raiderettes on her shoulders and hit a 3-pointer, then a pair of free throws to make it 48-41 with 5:13 left. Mound Ayr had a chance to cut it to 3 or 4, but Regan Allee got a steal and threw it to Anna Gladstone to start a run for Worth County. Regan Allee got another steal; then, free throw from Kristin new and Allee made it 56-41 with 3:01 left.
Klommhaus and Hickman made one last charge for Mount Air as she scored the next six points for Mount Ayr and suddenly, Worth County had consecutive turnovers against the press. Whittington’s steal made it 59-51; following a free throw from New to make it 60-51, free throws from Klommhaus made it 60-53 with 45.9 seconds left, still an eternity. But Worth County finally broke the press and took 12 seconds off the clock before Mount Ayr could foul Kristin New, who made it 61.53 with 33.3 seconds left. Klommhaus’ driving layup made it two possessions at 61-55, but Worth County took another big chunk of time off the clock, got the ball to Regan Allee, who hit two free throws with 13.2 seconds left. Mount Ayr could not counter as Worth County ran out the clock.
Regan Allee had 26 points to lead the Tigers. Anna Gladstone had 18, Kristin New 8, Merrideth Spiers 4, Haley Hunt 3, and Jessi Badell and Kaylee McElvain 2.
Kaylee McElvain led the Tigers with 6 blocks. Worth County blocked 12 shots on the night. Anna Gladstone and Haley Hunt had 2, while Kristin New and Merrideth Spiers had 1 each.
Anna Gladstone and Regan Allee had 7 boards each. Jessi Badell and Kaylee McElvain had 4 each, and Kristin New, Merrideth Spiers, Haley Hunt, and Jenna Smith had 2 each.
Kristin New and Anna Gladstone had 4 assists. Regan Allee had 3, Jenna Smith 2, and Megan Cassavaugh 1.
Anna Gladstone had 10 tips for the Tigers. Regan Allee had 9, Kaylee McElvain 5, Jessi Badell and Kristin New 3 each, Jenna Smith 2, and Merrideth Spiers and Haley Hunt 1.
Regan Allee had 6 steals for the Tigers. Anna Gladstone and Kristin New had 4, Kaylee McElvain and Jessi Badell had 2 each, and Haley Hunt had 1.
But the big stat of the night involved what Worth County didn’t do – turn the ball over. They turned it over only eight times despite constant pressure from Mount Ayr. They will win a lot of ballgames if they continue to take care of the ball.
No comments:
Post a Comment