Friday, December 20, 2019

Tiger Girls Score 25 in Third, Blank Christian

Worth County's girls basketball team frequently takes a long time to get going. But once they get going, they turn into a juggernaut and put the other team away. They did so against St. Joseph Christian, scoring 25 unanswered points against the Lions to turn a 25-10 halftime lead into a safe 50-10 lead. Unlike the North Andrew game, it wasn't a single play that sparked them. They were simply more fundamentally sound with the ball. After struggling against multiple defensive looks from the Lions, in which they didn't know what they were going up against in the first half, they committed one turnover from the start of the third quarter to the four minute mark of the fourth, when Coach Les New took out his starters. They also only gave up one offensive board against the Lions during that time stretch.

Worth County started off slowly against the Lions, with some sloppy play early on. But then Anna Gladstone got a block, pushed ahead, and kicked it out to Kristin New for three to erase a 2-0 deficit. Kaylee McElvain added another and then hit two free throws. Regan Allee drove and threw up a prayer that somehow went in, and converted a three point play to make it 12-2. Anna Gladstone then scored off a steal, got another layup off a Jenna Smith steal, and then Kristin New got a block on the defense end and Jill Hardy pushed it ahead to her to make it 18-2 after one.

Christian wouldn't go away, as they started solving Worth County's 1-3-1 trapping zone and getting Ella Bowman some good looks in the post to close to within 21-10. But then Anna got going again, scoring off a Kaylee McElvain steal to make it 23-10. Late in the first half, Jacqi Carlson injured her ankle battling with Merrideth Spiers for a board, and was done for the night; without their best defender and ballhandler, Christian didn't have an answer for Worth County's scoring barrage in the second half.

Megan Cassavaugh twice got the ball into Kaylee McElvain in the post and Kristin New hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and then Anna Gladstone converted a steal into a three point play to make it 35-10, forcing Christian into a timeout. But Kristin New had the hot hand in the third quarter along with Anna; she hit a triple from the top of the key again and added a steal. Anna then got a steal and then scored again off a Kristin New steal to make it 44-10 and force Christian into another time out.

But Worth County was not finished as Anna Gladstone scored off another steal and then Regan Allee hit a 3-pointer after Jenna Smith kept a possession alive with an offensive board. Merrideth Spiers capped the run with a free throw to put Worth County up 50-10 late in the third.

Anna Gladstone had 21 points to lead the Tigers. Kristin New had 14, Kaylee McElvain 10, Regan Allee 6, and Merrideth Spiers 3. Anna Gladstone had 8 tips, and Kaylee McElvain had 7 steals. Regan Allee had 5 steals and Anna Gladstone 4.

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