The refs got this one right. The ball was in the air with one tenth of a second left in the game.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Monday, March 9, 2009
Wrong Bluejays Advance to District Semifinals
The wrong Bluejays advanced to the District Semifinals Tuesday as the Rock Port Bluejays used seven 3-pointers and a 24-point fourth quarter to beat Northeast Nodaway 68-53 in opening round district action. However, the loss did not look quite so bad after Rock Port's next game, in which they erased a 16-point West Nodaway lead with four minutes left in the game and won 70-69 on a last-second shot.
Generally, Northeast Nodaway has started off fast in its games this year. However, the opposite was true against Rock Port as they fell behind 11-2 just 4 1/2 minutes into the game and could never catch up. The Bluejays had lit up the scoreboard in its last few games, including a 66-59 win over Tarkio in its final regular season game of the year that broke a long losing streak. Before that, they had scored 68 in losing efforts against DeKalb and CFX. But they could not solve Rock Port's man to man defense until it was too late. And Rock Port attacked one of Northeast's achilles heels as they repeatedly attacked the middle successfully in the early going to get some easy layups. After Rock Port's initial run, Tyler Davis kept the Bluejays in the game as he hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:18 left that cut it to 11-7.
But Rock Port kept attacking the middle and pushed the lead back up to 21-11 with 5:54 left in the second. Colby Wiederholt broke the run with a free throw and Josh Wideman hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to cut it back to six. Rock Port went through a rare scoring lull, but Northeast could not cut it any closer than six thanks to some unforced errors as well as some traveling calls. The Bluejays trailed 29-20 at the half.
Rock Port extended its pressure in the third quarter, denying the wings and the posts and creating a bunch of bad passes as a result. Consequently, Rock Port took its biggest lead of the game at 38-26 off a D.J. Shallenberger 3-pointer. Rock Port had several different players who could pull the trigger, meaning that Northeast could not key on one. The lead stayed in double digits until Josh Wideman hit a pair of free throws and Colby Wiederholt scored off a fast break with 13 seconds left to cut it to 42-34. But Northeast gave up a drive and a shot from Chase Chamberlin at the buzzer, keeping the Rock Port lead at 10 going into the fourth.
Northeast switched to a 2-3 zone to try to slow Rock Port down, and it worked for the first two minutes of the fourth. But the Bluejays could not take advantage of it on offense as they only points they got were a shot from Tyler Davis. But Zach Murphy hit a pair of free throws and then Spencer Pierpoint stole an errant lob pass to push it right back up to 12. Bryce Farnan hit two free throws and Tyler Davis hit four as Northeast used a 6-1 run to cut it to 49-42 with still plenty of time left. But Treyton Lewis got a putback for Rock Port and then Murphy stole a lazy inbounds pass and converted a 3-point play to provide the dagger that broke Northeast's backs. Murphy would go on to steal another errant inbounds pass to cap a 6-0 run that left Rock Port up 62-46 with just under two minutes left.
Generally, Northeast Nodaway has started off fast in its games this year. However, the opposite was true against Rock Port as they fell behind 11-2 just 4 1/2 minutes into the game and could never catch up. The Bluejays had lit up the scoreboard in its last few games, including a 66-59 win over Tarkio in its final regular season game of the year that broke a long losing streak. Before that, they had scored 68 in losing efforts against DeKalb and CFX. But they could not solve Rock Port's man to man defense until it was too late. And Rock Port attacked one of Northeast's achilles heels as they repeatedly attacked the middle successfully in the early going to get some easy layups. After Rock Port's initial run, Tyler Davis kept the Bluejays in the game as he hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:18 left that cut it to 11-7.
But Rock Port kept attacking the middle and pushed the lead back up to 21-11 with 5:54 left in the second. Colby Wiederholt broke the run with a free throw and Josh Wideman hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to cut it back to six. Rock Port went through a rare scoring lull, but Northeast could not cut it any closer than six thanks to some unforced errors as well as some traveling calls. The Bluejays trailed 29-20 at the half.
Rock Port extended its pressure in the third quarter, denying the wings and the posts and creating a bunch of bad passes as a result. Consequently, Rock Port took its biggest lead of the game at 38-26 off a D.J. Shallenberger 3-pointer. Rock Port had several different players who could pull the trigger, meaning that Northeast could not key on one. The lead stayed in double digits until Josh Wideman hit a pair of free throws and Colby Wiederholt scored off a fast break with 13 seconds left to cut it to 42-34. But Northeast gave up a drive and a shot from Chase Chamberlin at the buzzer, keeping the Rock Port lead at 10 going into the fourth.
Northeast switched to a 2-3 zone to try to slow Rock Port down, and it worked for the first two minutes of the fourth. But the Bluejays could not take advantage of it on offense as they only points they got were a shot from Tyler Davis. But Zach Murphy hit a pair of free throws and then Spencer Pierpoint stole an errant lob pass to push it right back up to 12. Bryce Farnan hit two free throws and Tyler Davis hit four as Northeast used a 6-1 run to cut it to 49-42 with still plenty of time left. But Treyton Lewis got a putback for Rock Port and then Murphy stole a lazy inbounds pass and converted a 3-point play to provide the dagger that broke Northeast's backs. Murphy would go on to steal another errant inbounds pass to cap a 6-0 run that left Rock Port up 62-46 with just under two minutes left.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Northeast Nodaway Girls Close Out Best Season in Seven Years
Northeast Nodaway girls closed out their best season in seven years with a gallant effort against Craig/Fairfax, but fell to the Bulldogs 51-40 in district semifinal action Wednesday night. Playing her last game of her career was Cammi Hansen, who developed into a strong role player for the Bluejays as well as a defensive stopper. The Bluejays figure to be one of the teams to beat in the area once again as they return everyone else to a 21-7 squad.
The Bluejays borrowed a page out of Worth County's playbook by employing the same defense that the Tigers used against CFX in their opening round game; they went to a 1-3 zone with Jacqueline Schulte guarding Whitney Harrington and denying her the ball. Schulte, still battling a case of strep throat, did her job admirably; not only did she hold Harrington to 9 points, she scored 14 points herself in the losing effort. But CFX's role players stepped up and filled in the void; Kelsey Sly scored 10 points, most of them during critical periods for the Bulldogs. And Amanda Geib scored 16 to lead all scorers for CFX.
Things started off well for Northeast as they scored the first six points of the game. CFX started out in a man to man to neutralize Northeast's 3-point shooting, which almost brought them back from the dead against the Bulldogs in their first meeting. But that allowed Northeast to slow down the game against the explosive CFX squad. Jacqueline Schulte scored from the left baseline, Blair Schmitz scored from the inside, and Kristin Sherry, playing with a stress fracture, scored from the left baseline after a Schmitz kickout. But then the Bulldogs rallied back and Sly hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put them in front 7-6.
That seemed to spark Craig/Fairfax, which went on to score 20 points in the second quarter despite Harrington not scoring her first points until the 2:36 mark in the period. CFX followed the lead of their opening-round game with Worth County, in which they started off slowly, but then used a strong second quarter to pull away. The game was played at their pace, as they were able to collect most of their points on drives, layups, and transition points. Northeast struggled at times against the relentless Bulldog press and Schulte was winded from battling her illness and guarding Harrington. Blair Schmitz tried to carry the Bluejays in the period, as she took a charge, got two free throws, and scored on a fast break after Kristin Sherry drove coast to coast and got her the ball. However, like the first game, she picked up her third foul and sat down for the last two minutes of the quarter. CFX led by as much as 25-12 before Schulte broke the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key after Michelle Schulte collected an offensive board despite her small size and kicked it out to her.
Northeast finally began breaking the CFX press as Blair Schmitz got open inside twice and Jacqueline Schulte drove against the press and missed a shot, but Michelle Schulte collected the putback on their third chance; that cut the Bulldog lead to 29-21. The game went into a long lull as Northeast couldn't buy a defensive board, but CFX was stymied by traveling calls as they were having trouble solving Northeast's 1-3-1 that they employed successfully against DeKalb. Harrington picked up her third foul, but Northeast gave up one offensive board too many and Geib's putback sparked a 6-0 run that put CFX back in control at 35-21 with 1:21 left. Schulte hit a transition 3-pointer after Northeast burned the press, but Geib's drive with 3 seconds left kept Craig/Fairfax in control at 36-24.
Back came the Bluejays at the start of the fourth qaurter, sparked by the play of Jessica Redden. She opened the scoring with an inside shot off an inbounds play; she would play strong defense against their inside game. Jacqueline Schulte followed by a drive down the middle against the pressure and hit a pair of free throws, causing CFX to take off their press for a few plays. Kristin Sherry hit a shot from the right wing after a Michelle Schulte drive and kickout, and the Bluejays were within striking distance at 36-30. But Craig/Fairfax spread out the floor and isolated Harrington, and her drive to the basket and a subsequent steal and drive by Geib put the lead back up 40-30 with 4:08 left. The teams traded buckets down the stretch, but the Bulldogs' role players stepped up again as they scored the last seven points for their team. Amanda Yocum's 3-point play gave the Bulldogs a 47-34 lead with 2:06 left.
Jacqueline Schulte struck again, driving to the basket with 1:55 to kickstart a Bluejay rally. Michelle Schulte scored off a Schulte kickout and Taylor Dougan, recovering from an injury enough to play, came off the bench to chip in a shot from the left wing with 1:10 left to cut the margin to 47-40 with 1:10 left. But CFX went to Sly, and she hit four for four from the line in the final 56 seconds to deny Northeast a comeback and a chance to play Jefferson.
The Bluejays borrowed a page out of Worth County's playbook by employing the same defense that the Tigers used against CFX in their opening round game; they went to a 1-3 zone with Jacqueline Schulte guarding Whitney Harrington and denying her the ball. Schulte, still battling a case of strep throat, did her job admirably; not only did she hold Harrington to 9 points, she scored 14 points herself in the losing effort. But CFX's role players stepped up and filled in the void; Kelsey Sly scored 10 points, most of them during critical periods for the Bulldogs. And Amanda Geib scored 16 to lead all scorers for CFX.
Things started off well for Northeast as they scored the first six points of the game. CFX started out in a man to man to neutralize Northeast's 3-point shooting, which almost brought them back from the dead against the Bulldogs in their first meeting. But that allowed Northeast to slow down the game against the explosive CFX squad. Jacqueline Schulte scored from the left baseline, Blair Schmitz scored from the inside, and Kristin Sherry, playing with a stress fracture, scored from the left baseline after a Schmitz kickout. But then the Bulldogs rallied back and Sly hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put them in front 7-6.
That seemed to spark Craig/Fairfax, which went on to score 20 points in the second quarter despite Harrington not scoring her first points until the 2:36 mark in the period. CFX followed the lead of their opening-round game with Worth County, in which they started off slowly, but then used a strong second quarter to pull away. The game was played at their pace, as they were able to collect most of their points on drives, layups, and transition points. Northeast struggled at times against the relentless Bulldog press and Schulte was winded from battling her illness and guarding Harrington. Blair Schmitz tried to carry the Bluejays in the period, as she took a charge, got two free throws, and scored on a fast break after Kristin Sherry drove coast to coast and got her the ball. However, like the first game, she picked up her third foul and sat down for the last two minutes of the quarter. CFX led by as much as 25-12 before Schulte broke the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key after Michelle Schulte collected an offensive board despite her small size and kicked it out to her.
Northeast finally began breaking the CFX press as Blair Schmitz got open inside twice and Jacqueline Schulte drove against the press and missed a shot, but Michelle Schulte collected the putback on their third chance; that cut the Bulldog lead to 29-21. The game went into a long lull as Northeast couldn't buy a defensive board, but CFX was stymied by traveling calls as they were having trouble solving Northeast's 1-3-1 that they employed successfully against DeKalb. Harrington picked up her third foul, but Northeast gave up one offensive board too many and Geib's putback sparked a 6-0 run that put CFX back in control at 35-21 with 1:21 left. Schulte hit a transition 3-pointer after Northeast burned the press, but Geib's drive with 3 seconds left kept Craig/Fairfax in control at 36-24.
Back came the Bluejays at the start of the fourth qaurter, sparked by the play of Jessica Redden. She opened the scoring with an inside shot off an inbounds play; she would play strong defense against their inside game. Jacqueline Schulte followed by a drive down the middle against the pressure and hit a pair of free throws, causing CFX to take off their press for a few plays. Kristin Sherry hit a shot from the right wing after a Michelle Schulte drive and kickout, and the Bluejays were within striking distance at 36-30. But Craig/Fairfax spread out the floor and isolated Harrington, and her drive to the basket and a subsequent steal and drive by Geib put the lead back up 40-30 with 4:08 left. The teams traded buckets down the stretch, but the Bulldogs' role players stepped up again as they scored the last seven points for their team. Amanda Yocum's 3-point play gave the Bulldogs a 47-34 lead with 2:06 left.
Jacqueline Schulte struck again, driving to the basket with 1:55 to kickstart a Bluejay rally. Michelle Schulte scored off a Schulte kickout and Taylor Dougan, recovering from an injury enough to play, came off the bench to chip in a shot from the left wing with 1:10 left to cut the margin to 47-40 with 1:10 left. But CFX went to Sly, and she hit four for four from the line in the final 56 seconds to deny Northeast a comeback and a chance to play Jefferson.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Bluejay Girls, Under the Weather, Still Breeze Past Mustangs
Northeast Nodaway's girls played their best game of the year last Thursday, a 40-32 win over Tarkio. The Indians had beaten CFX, the team that hung 73 on Northeast, by 5, and they are a 2A powerhouse. Seemingly, the Bluejays stretched themselves to their limits with the win; Jaqueline Schulte came down with a nasty case of the flu which did not go down until just before gametime. Kristin Sherry injured her right foot and was wearing it in a cast; Taylor Dougan was also out with an injury. But Coach Ryan Davis said before the game that the team would be just fine in their opening-round district matchup with North Nodaway, and the 50-33 score bore him out.
North Nodaway figured to put up a better fight than the last time the two teams met; they were putting points on the board. They had played Tarkio tough, losing by only 10; they had also scored 47 against CFX even though they lost. With the addition of freshman Ali Ramsey, they suddenly developed several different scoring options. But Northeast started off the game strong and never allowed the Mustangs to get going until it was too late. Schulte, although under the weather, was still a factor and the rest of her teammates all picked up the slack, with five different players getting between six and ten points on the night. That made Northeast an extremely difficult team to stop. Defensively, the Bluejays played lights-out, shutting down their shooters until it was too late for the Mustangs to make up the difference.
The Mustangs tried to keep up with Northeast's offense and the two teams traded buckets. But then Northeast began attacking the middle successfully against North Nodaway's man to man and began to pull away. Emily Bryant had four points in the period while Kristin Sherry, showing no ill effects from her bad foot, had six in the period and playing as physical as she had all year. They managed to jump out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter despite getting only one point in the period from Jacqueline Schulte.
Northeast started the second quarter off strongly as Emily Bryant drove to the basket and hit a floater and Kristen Sherry posted up inside and got a pass from Blair Schmitz to make it 22-9. But a steal and 3-point play from Ramsey seemed to put the brakes on Northeast and the game slowed down to a prolonged crawl for the next several minutes. Northeast led 25-14 at the break.
The Mustangs went to a 2-3 zone to start the third quarter, hoping to force Northeast to miss their outside shots and hoping to capitalize on the resultant fast break opportunities on the other end. For the first four minutes of the third period, the strategy worked as North Nodaway crept closer, at 27-18. But then, Northeast began getting the ball into Blair Schmitz, who then kicked it out to the open person; Coach Ryan Davis said that his players shot much more confidently when the ball was kicked out to them. Schmitz would go on to lead with six assists, mostly when kicking the ball out to open players. Michelle Schulte hit a pair of open shots, and Jacqueline Schulte added a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
With the Northeast lead back up to 15, North Nodaway tried to extend their pressure out of the zone, but that simply created more opportunities for dribble penetration and offensive rebounding opportunities. Blair Schmitz got a putback and a shot from the high post in transition after a steal and Jacqueline Schulte added a shot from the top of the key and Kenzie Waldeier rounded out the Northeast scoring in the third with a putback with 8 seconds left that left the Bluejays up 42-19.
The Mustangs went to their bench to try and provide a spark, and they went on a brief 4-0 run in the first minute of the fourth quarter as Coach Ashley (Pride) Yount put in Karie Ogle, Paige Baker, and Sarah Workman. Baker hit a pair of free throws and a freshman, Nikki Larabee, posted up and scored inside. But Northeast reestablished control as Rachel Runde came off the bench to hit a pair of left baseline jumpers against the zone and Kristin Sherry hit another one. Michelle Schulte scored off an Emily Bryant steal as they ganged up on and trapped a Mustang player and stripped her of the ball to cap the scoring on the night for Northeast and give them a 50-25 lead. Coach Ryan Davis then turned it over to his bench, and North Nodaway never got the deficit under 20 until the closing seconds.
North Nodaway figured to put up a better fight than the last time the two teams met; they were putting points on the board. They had played Tarkio tough, losing by only 10; they had also scored 47 against CFX even though they lost. With the addition of freshman Ali Ramsey, they suddenly developed several different scoring options. But Northeast started off the game strong and never allowed the Mustangs to get going until it was too late. Schulte, although under the weather, was still a factor and the rest of her teammates all picked up the slack, with five different players getting between six and ten points on the night. That made Northeast an extremely difficult team to stop. Defensively, the Bluejays played lights-out, shutting down their shooters until it was too late for the Mustangs to make up the difference.
The Mustangs tried to keep up with Northeast's offense and the two teams traded buckets. But then Northeast began attacking the middle successfully against North Nodaway's man to man and began to pull away. Emily Bryant had four points in the period while Kristin Sherry, showing no ill effects from her bad foot, had six in the period and playing as physical as she had all year. They managed to jump out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter despite getting only one point in the period from Jacqueline Schulte.
Northeast started the second quarter off strongly as Emily Bryant drove to the basket and hit a floater and Kristen Sherry posted up inside and got a pass from Blair Schmitz to make it 22-9. But a steal and 3-point play from Ramsey seemed to put the brakes on Northeast and the game slowed down to a prolonged crawl for the next several minutes. Northeast led 25-14 at the break.
The Mustangs went to a 2-3 zone to start the third quarter, hoping to force Northeast to miss their outside shots and hoping to capitalize on the resultant fast break opportunities on the other end. For the first four minutes of the third period, the strategy worked as North Nodaway crept closer, at 27-18. But then, Northeast began getting the ball into Blair Schmitz, who then kicked it out to the open person; Coach Ryan Davis said that his players shot much more confidently when the ball was kicked out to them. Schmitz would go on to lead with six assists, mostly when kicking the ball out to open players. Michelle Schulte hit a pair of open shots, and Jacqueline Schulte added a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
With the Northeast lead back up to 15, North Nodaway tried to extend their pressure out of the zone, but that simply created more opportunities for dribble penetration and offensive rebounding opportunities. Blair Schmitz got a putback and a shot from the high post in transition after a steal and Jacqueline Schulte added a shot from the top of the key and Kenzie Waldeier rounded out the Northeast scoring in the third with a putback with 8 seconds left that left the Bluejays up 42-19.
The Mustangs went to their bench to try and provide a spark, and they went on a brief 4-0 run in the first minute of the fourth quarter as Coach Ashley (Pride) Yount put in Karie Ogle, Paige Baker, and Sarah Workman. Baker hit a pair of free throws and a freshman, Nikki Larabee, posted up and scored inside. But Northeast reestablished control as Rachel Runde came off the bench to hit a pair of left baseline jumpers against the zone and Kristin Sherry hit another one. Michelle Schulte scored off an Emily Bryant steal as they ganged up on and trapped a Mustang player and stripped her of the ball to cap the scoring on the night for Northeast and give them a 50-25 lead. Coach Ryan Davis then turned it over to his bench, and North Nodaway never got the deficit under 20 until the closing seconds.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Northeast Boys Show Glimmer of Hope.
Northeast Nodaway's boys showed a glimmer of hope in their last two games. After an ugly 77-46 blowout loss to Elwood in which Coach Charlie Burch kicked over a chair and drew a technical foul in frustration at one point, the Bluejays were faced with a choice -- pack it in for the year or pick it up for the closing stretch. To their credit, they used a strong fourth quarter to erase a deficit and take CFX to overtime before losing 72-68. The Bluejays then showed that they could play with the best, playing evenly with DeKalb (one of the top teams in the conference) after falling behind 22-5 after one quarter before losing 89-68. The Tigers had thrown a scare into powerhouse Jefferson, only trailing by 17-16 before the three-time defending state champs hung 31 points in the second and 26 points in the third to dispose of them 82-57.
There were two players who were the key to Northeast's suddenly improved offensive output. Bryce Farnan carried the Bluejays against CFX, scoring 26 points in that period; he followed that with a 21-point effort Monday night. The other player was freshman point guard Alec Scroggie. When Scroggie started against CFX, the Bluejays were a totally different team out there; he provided the steady hand that Coach Burch had been looking for all year. "He's a level-headed kid who does everything you ask him to and who earned his playing time," said Burch after the DeKalb game. Scroggie did not start against DeKalb; however, he played for much of the game.
The Bluejays fell back into some of the bad habits that have plagued them all year to start with in the first period; a Colby Wiederholt putback and a Tyler Davis 3-pointer were the only points that they scored in that period. In the meantime, the Tigers scored at will as Northeast kept throwing it away against the halfcourt trap and were jacking up 3-pointers, gambling and missing on passes causing easy layups, and not boxing out on the boards.
Coach Charlie Burch had wanted his team to translate stuff from the practice floor onto the court all year, and all of a sudden, they started doing so on the offensive end and made a game out of it at times. But they could not buy a stop on the defensive end. "Take away the first quarter, and we might have had a game," said Burch. "DeKalb shot the ball really well. If we're going to win some games before the year is out, we have to go out and get some stops."
Burch went to a four-guard lineup and took Farnan out to try to cope with the DeKalb trap; however, he put Farnan back in and Farnan responded by converting a 3-point play off a drive with 5:46 left. Davis followed with another 3-point play as well as another layup when Bobby Welch fell down but managed to roll the ball to him. Chad Messner hit a baseline three and Farnan outfought a DeKalb player for a defensive board and hit a free throw, and all of a sudden, Northeast was within 31-22. But Northeast had some lapses as they gave up an offensive board and 3-pointer to kill the rally. Some bad passes and soft defense allowed DeKalb to push the lead back to 41-22 and they led 48-29 at the break.
DeKalb looked poised to blow Northeast away as they scored the first bucket of the second half, but Colby Wiederholt drove down the left side and hit from the left wing against the trap and then Bryce Farnan hit a couple of baseline 3-pointers to make it 50-37. But DeKalb hit some 3-pointers of their own as Northeast went to a zone to try to close off the middle; however, that played into the Tigers' hands as they have been an explosive 3-point shooting team all year. Farnan hit his third 3-pointer of the quarter and Tyler Davis followed with a conventional 3-point play to get back to within 61-48, but back to back 3-pointers against Northeast's zone pushed it right back to 67-48.
Tyler Davis scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as he had a putback, a 3-pointer, an inside shot, and a coast to coast fast break after one of Northeast's rare defensive stops to clost it to 79-65 with 2:17 left, but DeKalb got a pair of free throws and a putback to kill the rally. Scroggie went coast to coast on a fast break and Bryce Farnan hit a free throw in the closing minutes to account for Northeast's scoring.
There were two players who were the key to Northeast's suddenly improved offensive output. Bryce Farnan carried the Bluejays against CFX, scoring 26 points in that period; he followed that with a 21-point effort Monday night. The other player was freshman point guard Alec Scroggie. When Scroggie started against CFX, the Bluejays were a totally different team out there; he provided the steady hand that Coach Burch had been looking for all year. "He's a level-headed kid who does everything you ask him to and who earned his playing time," said Burch after the DeKalb game. Scroggie did not start against DeKalb; however, he played for much of the game.
The Bluejays fell back into some of the bad habits that have plagued them all year to start with in the first period; a Colby Wiederholt putback and a Tyler Davis 3-pointer were the only points that they scored in that period. In the meantime, the Tigers scored at will as Northeast kept throwing it away against the halfcourt trap and were jacking up 3-pointers, gambling and missing on passes causing easy layups, and not boxing out on the boards.
Coach Charlie Burch had wanted his team to translate stuff from the practice floor onto the court all year, and all of a sudden, they started doing so on the offensive end and made a game out of it at times. But they could not buy a stop on the defensive end. "Take away the first quarter, and we might have had a game," said Burch. "DeKalb shot the ball really well. If we're going to win some games before the year is out, we have to go out and get some stops."
Burch went to a four-guard lineup and took Farnan out to try to cope with the DeKalb trap; however, he put Farnan back in and Farnan responded by converting a 3-point play off a drive with 5:46 left. Davis followed with another 3-point play as well as another layup when Bobby Welch fell down but managed to roll the ball to him. Chad Messner hit a baseline three and Farnan outfought a DeKalb player for a defensive board and hit a free throw, and all of a sudden, Northeast was within 31-22. But Northeast had some lapses as they gave up an offensive board and 3-pointer to kill the rally. Some bad passes and soft defense allowed DeKalb to push the lead back to 41-22 and they led 48-29 at the break.
DeKalb looked poised to blow Northeast away as they scored the first bucket of the second half, but Colby Wiederholt drove down the left side and hit from the left wing against the trap and then Bryce Farnan hit a couple of baseline 3-pointers to make it 50-37. But DeKalb hit some 3-pointers of their own as Northeast went to a zone to try to close off the middle; however, that played into the Tigers' hands as they have been an explosive 3-point shooting team all year. Farnan hit his third 3-pointer of the quarter and Tyler Davis followed with a conventional 3-point play to get back to within 61-48, but back to back 3-pointers against Northeast's zone pushed it right back to 67-48.
Tyler Davis scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as he had a putback, a 3-pointer, an inside shot, and a coast to coast fast break after one of Northeast's rare defensive stops to clost it to 79-65 with 2:17 left, but DeKalb got a pair of free throws and a putback to kill the rally. Scroggie went coast to coast on a fast break and Bryce Farnan hit a free throw in the closing minutes to account for Northeast's scoring.
Bluejay Girls Coast over Elwood 58-32
Northeast Nodaway's girls started off strong and coasted to a 58-32 win over Elwood last Tuesday night in Platte Valley Conference action. The win was the lone easy game in a string of tough games at the end of the year before districts. Elwood came into the game with some size; that seemed to bother Northeast under the basket to some extent as they missed a lot of close shots in the game. They had a six-footer and two girls over 5'10", all of whom played. However, Northeast was able to use its pressure to harass Elwood's guards and force a ton of traveling and palming violations throughout the game. Michelle Schulte led the steal brigade with six; Blair Schmitz had five steals along with six assists and 10 rebounds.
Elwood came out in a zone, counting on its big players to deny easy baskets. However, it didn't matter as the Schulte sisters combined for 35 points as Jacqueline (21 points) and Michelle (14 points) were both hitting during the contest. Northeast was able to get plenty of open looks from outside as well.
Jacqueline Schulte hit a 3-pointer to start with after Kristin Sherry got some dribble penetration and kicked out. Michelle Schulte got a fast break layup after Elwood threw up a quick 3-pointer to try to match; Kristin Sherry jumped a pass for a steal to make it 7-0. Six-footer Shandell Kretzer hit a free throw, but Blair Schmitz scored from inside and Jacqueline Schulte cut backdoor off an inbounds play to make it 11-1. Kristin Sherry scored from the baseline to make it 13-3. Blair Schmitz picked up her second foul and sat down, which seemed to slow Northeast down as they only made one more basket, a baseline shot from Schulte off a kickout from Jessica Redden as Northeast led 15-5 after one quarter of play.
But as she has so often this year, Michelle Schulte changed the game around, this time with a steal of Elwood's initial possession in the second period to jump start another run for Northeast. Kristin Sherry scored off a skip pass from Blair Schmitz, Jacqueline Schulte followed her own miss following a turnover, and then Northeast converted a four-point play. Cammi Hansen came off the bench to get a steal and Michelle Schulte was fouled in transition. She made her first free throw and missed the second; however, Kristin Sherry managed to throw the ball out of bounds off Kretzer to give Northeast the ball back. On the ensuing possession, Northeast missed a shot but Blair Schmitz made an off-balance grab of the rebound and got it to Hansen just before she fell. Hansen kicked it out to Taylor Dougan for a 3-pointer to make it 25-5 and thwart any comeback hopes.
Following a free throw from Brianna Buckner, Jacqueline Schulte got a steal, fed to Michelle, who fed to Kristin Sherry for the layup. Jacqueline Schulte then got two blocked shots in one possession on the other end and then Michelle Schulte got another steal, fed it to Kristin Sherry, who flipped it to Jacqueline for the drive and layup. Michelle Schulte's free throw made it 30-6 with 2:12 left in the half. Kretzer converted a 3-point play on the other end, but Blair Schmitz hit a pair of free throws after Northeast had collected three offensive boards, Schulte scored on a backdoor layup after Elwood had collapsed on Schmitz in the high post, and Michelle Schulte hit a shot from the right wing after a kickout from Jacqueline as Northeast led 36-13 at the half.
Buckner hit an inside shot with 7:31 left to open the scoring, but Jacqueline Schulte scored off a Michelle Schulte steal and then added a shot from the right baseline. Blair Schmitz scored off a steal to make it 42-15. From there, the Bluejays stalled; there were two factors that contributed to that. First of all, Elwood checked in a freshman, Skyler Kretzer, who sparked the Panthers with her hustle; although she used up all of her fouls in the third, she seemed to give them some spark. Secondly of all, the second half was played at Elwood's slow pace as the referees, seemingly collecting pay for every whistle they blew, called everything.
The Panthers began playing with Northeast much more confidently, cutting the Northeast lead to 51-29 with 4:26 left in the fourth before Northeast caught a second wind and closed out the game on a run. Michelle Schulte hit a free throw, Kenzie Waldeier put back a missed free throw, Emily Bryant stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit one out of two free throws, Bryant got another steal and Blair Schmitz put back her miss, and Kenzie Waldeier hit one out of two free throws after getting a steal. That made it 58-29 with 2:03 left; Coach Ryan Davis began substituting freely at that point. Sarah Teaney came off the bench for Northeast to tie up a ballhandler from behind and force a traveling call with her ball pressure for the third string.
Elwood came out in a zone, counting on its big players to deny easy baskets. However, it didn't matter as the Schulte sisters combined for 35 points as Jacqueline (21 points) and Michelle (14 points) were both hitting during the contest. Northeast was able to get plenty of open looks from outside as well.
Jacqueline Schulte hit a 3-pointer to start with after Kristin Sherry got some dribble penetration and kicked out. Michelle Schulte got a fast break layup after Elwood threw up a quick 3-pointer to try to match; Kristin Sherry jumped a pass for a steal to make it 7-0. Six-footer Shandell Kretzer hit a free throw, but Blair Schmitz scored from inside and Jacqueline Schulte cut backdoor off an inbounds play to make it 11-1. Kristin Sherry scored from the baseline to make it 13-3. Blair Schmitz picked up her second foul and sat down, which seemed to slow Northeast down as they only made one more basket, a baseline shot from Schulte off a kickout from Jessica Redden as Northeast led 15-5 after one quarter of play.
But as she has so often this year, Michelle Schulte changed the game around, this time with a steal of Elwood's initial possession in the second period to jump start another run for Northeast. Kristin Sherry scored off a skip pass from Blair Schmitz, Jacqueline Schulte followed her own miss following a turnover, and then Northeast converted a four-point play. Cammi Hansen came off the bench to get a steal and Michelle Schulte was fouled in transition. She made her first free throw and missed the second; however, Kristin Sherry managed to throw the ball out of bounds off Kretzer to give Northeast the ball back. On the ensuing possession, Northeast missed a shot but Blair Schmitz made an off-balance grab of the rebound and got it to Hansen just before she fell. Hansen kicked it out to Taylor Dougan for a 3-pointer to make it 25-5 and thwart any comeback hopes.
Following a free throw from Brianna Buckner, Jacqueline Schulte got a steal, fed to Michelle, who fed to Kristin Sherry for the layup. Jacqueline Schulte then got two blocked shots in one possession on the other end and then Michelle Schulte got another steal, fed it to Kristin Sherry, who flipped it to Jacqueline for the drive and layup. Michelle Schulte's free throw made it 30-6 with 2:12 left in the half. Kretzer converted a 3-point play on the other end, but Blair Schmitz hit a pair of free throws after Northeast had collected three offensive boards, Schulte scored on a backdoor layup after Elwood had collapsed on Schmitz in the high post, and Michelle Schulte hit a shot from the right wing after a kickout from Jacqueline as Northeast led 36-13 at the half.
Buckner hit an inside shot with 7:31 left to open the scoring, but Jacqueline Schulte scored off a Michelle Schulte steal and then added a shot from the right baseline. Blair Schmitz scored off a steal to make it 42-15. From there, the Bluejays stalled; there were two factors that contributed to that. First of all, Elwood checked in a freshman, Skyler Kretzer, who sparked the Panthers with her hustle; although she used up all of her fouls in the third, she seemed to give them some spark. Secondly of all, the second half was played at Elwood's slow pace as the referees, seemingly collecting pay for every whistle they blew, called everything.
The Panthers began playing with Northeast much more confidently, cutting the Northeast lead to 51-29 with 4:26 left in the fourth before Northeast caught a second wind and closed out the game on a run. Michelle Schulte hit a free throw, Kenzie Waldeier put back a missed free throw, Emily Bryant stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit one out of two free throws, Bryant got another steal and Blair Schmitz put back her miss, and Kenzie Waldeier hit one out of two free throws after getting a steal. That made it 58-29 with 2:03 left; Coach Ryan Davis began substituting freely at that point. Sarah Teaney came off the bench for Northeast to tie up a ballhandler from behind and force a traveling call with her ball pressure for the third string.
Northeast Girls Start Strong, Finish Strong against DeKalb
Northeast Nodaway's girls started strong and then finished strong in a 47-38 win over DeKalb that had none of the last-second drama of the King City Tournament finale. But it was a solid recovery from a 73-54 loss against CFX in its previous game. The key difference was in the abilities of the teams to recover from a loss; Northeast has not lost consecutive games yet this year. DeKalb, however, was coming off their worst game of the year, a 48-17 shellacking at the hands of Jefferson that surprised even the Jefferson partisans. The Tigers had also responded to their earlier loss to the Bluejays by losing to North Platte by 25.
The other key stat, supplied by Coach Ryan Davis, concerned the team's rebounding -- Northeast outrebounded DeKalb by 10 and had four different players with five or more rebounds. DeKalb had outrebounded Northeast in the first meeting between the two teams. Tessa Gillis had torched the Bluejays in the first game and gave her team a chance to win it; Northeast held her to 9 in Monday night's meeting. None of the other players went off on Northeast or was able to take over the game. Northeast got the win despite Michelle Schulte being under the weather for the night. "I asked her two or three times if she was all right, but she was," said Coach Davis.
With the win, Northeast clinched third place in the Platte Valley Conference with a 5-2 record behind South Nodaway and Jefferson. The Longhorns beat the Eagles for the conference title earlier in the year. The Bluejays met one of their goals as they wanted to win their Homecoming game. They have one more goal to meet; "We don't want to lose in our white uniforms," said Coach Davis. For that to happen, Northeast will have to get by a very tough Tarkio squad which beat CFX, the team that blitzed Northeast in Craig, 61-56. Northeast will then open districts against North Nodaway in Burlington Junction; the Mustangs have gone 8-13 this year and have shown some firepower in putting up 47 and 60 in losses to CFX and Tarkio respectively.
The game went back and forth until the fourth quarter, when Northeast got its transition game going and put the game away. DeKalb came out in the half-court trap that Northeast had trouble with the first time; however, Northeast had a much easier time playing against it the second time. Northeast did a much better job of getting the ball to the middle and attacking the basket; Blair Schmitz kicked it out to Kristin Sherry for an easy layup and to Emily Bryant for a jumper; Bryant would go on to hit a shot from the top of the key and a shot from the wing in the period to collect six for the quarter. That forced DeKalb to play honest on her and opened up the lanes for Jacqueline Schulte. Michelle Schulte added a putback to make it 8-3. Jacqueline Schulte got a putback and Kenzie Waldeier came off the bench for a rebound putback and Northeast went ahead 16-7.
Although Gillis was bottled up, DeKalb went to McKenzie Reagan to bring them back in the game and she got a driving layup and a kickout to Paige Hartman; Hartman added a 3-pointer that capped an 11-1 run that put DeKalb back up 18-17. But that was the story of the night for DeKalb; they would use up their energy making runs that would give them the lead, only to wear themselves out doing so and allowing Northeast to jump right back in front. Jacqueline Schulte drove straight down the middle of the DeKalb trap, Kristin Sherry scored off a Michelle Schulte steal, and Jacqueline Schulte drove down the middle of the trap again and drew a foul, making one of two to put Northeast back in front 25-20 at the break.
But the second half started off badly for Northeast as they gave up a four-point play as Gillis drove to the basket and drew the foul, missed the free throw, and Reagan was there for the putback. Hartman scored from the high post and DeKalb was right back in front at 26-25. Northeast struggled against the trap, being unable to mount any kind of scoring threat until Blair Schmitz drove to the basket with 4:06 left to cut it to 28-27 to break a four-minute scoring drought. DeKalb switched to their man to man, but Jacqueline Schulte posted up and scored to tie it at 30 before DeKalb hit a baseline shot with six seconds left in the third to go back ahead.
Northeast made a key adjustment that made a big difference from last time -- they went to a 1-3-1 zone which made it a lot more difficult for Gillis to drive at will against them like she did in the first game. For the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, the game looked like it would be a repeat of the last game, which went to the wire. The only score during that frame was a free throw from Reagan that allowed DeKalb to match its largest lead of the game at 33-30. But all of a sudden, Jacqueline Schulte made a clutch play as she has done so often throughout the past three years as she drove straight down the middle of the trap again for a layup with 5:34 left. That seemed to burst open a dam. DeKalb threw up a quick shot to respond, but it went astray and Michelle Schulte got the defensive board and went coast to coast, dishing off to Blair Schmitz to put Northeast up to stay. Northeast got another defensive stop and got the ball to Schmitz against the trap, but the Tigers overextended, leaving Kristin Sherry all alone for the layup. Sherry added a free throw to make it 37-33 with 3:36 left.
Gillis got a putback to cut it to two and Emily Bryant missed an open baseline shot. But Kristin Sherry was there for the putback to make it a four-point game again at 39-35. The Bluejays got another stop and then Northeast began running out the clock as DeKalb went to their full court press. Northeast went six for eight down the stretch from the line as Kristin Sherry, Blair Schmitz, Jacqueline Schulte, and Cammi Hansen all had free throws during the stretch; Michelle Schulte had a steal and drive as well to account for the scoring. Krista Harvey made a meaningless 3-pointer with 12.8 seconds to account for the final score.
The other key stat, supplied by Coach Ryan Davis, concerned the team's rebounding -- Northeast outrebounded DeKalb by 10 and had four different players with five or more rebounds. DeKalb had outrebounded Northeast in the first meeting between the two teams. Tessa Gillis had torched the Bluejays in the first game and gave her team a chance to win it; Northeast held her to 9 in Monday night's meeting. None of the other players went off on Northeast or was able to take over the game. Northeast got the win despite Michelle Schulte being under the weather for the night. "I asked her two or three times if she was all right, but she was," said Coach Davis.
With the win, Northeast clinched third place in the Platte Valley Conference with a 5-2 record behind South Nodaway and Jefferson. The Longhorns beat the Eagles for the conference title earlier in the year. The Bluejays met one of their goals as they wanted to win their Homecoming game. They have one more goal to meet; "We don't want to lose in our white uniforms," said Coach Davis. For that to happen, Northeast will have to get by a very tough Tarkio squad which beat CFX, the team that blitzed Northeast in Craig, 61-56. Northeast will then open districts against North Nodaway in Burlington Junction; the Mustangs have gone 8-13 this year and have shown some firepower in putting up 47 and 60 in losses to CFX and Tarkio respectively.
The game went back and forth until the fourth quarter, when Northeast got its transition game going and put the game away. DeKalb came out in the half-court trap that Northeast had trouble with the first time; however, Northeast had a much easier time playing against it the second time. Northeast did a much better job of getting the ball to the middle and attacking the basket; Blair Schmitz kicked it out to Kristin Sherry for an easy layup and to Emily Bryant for a jumper; Bryant would go on to hit a shot from the top of the key and a shot from the wing in the period to collect six for the quarter. That forced DeKalb to play honest on her and opened up the lanes for Jacqueline Schulte. Michelle Schulte added a putback to make it 8-3. Jacqueline Schulte got a putback and Kenzie Waldeier came off the bench for a rebound putback and Northeast went ahead 16-7.
Although Gillis was bottled up, DeKalb went to McKenzie Reagan to bring them back in the game and she got a driving layup and a kickout to Paige Hartman; Hartman added a 3-pointer that capped an 11-1 run that put DeKalb back up 18-17. But that was the story of the night for DeKalb; they would use up their energy making runs that would give them the lead, only to wear themselves out doing so and allowing Northeast to jump right back in front. Jacqueline Schulte drove straight down the middle of the DeKalb trap, Kristin Sherry scored off a Michelle Schulte steal, and Jacqueline Schulte drove down the middle of the trap again and drew a foul, making one of two to put Northeast back in front 25-20 at the break.
But the second half started off badly for Northeast as they gave up a four-point play as Gillis drove to the basket and drew the foul, missed the free throw, and Reagan was there for the putback. Hartman scored from the high post and DeKalb was right back in front at 26-25. Northeast struggled against the trap, being unable to mount any kind of scoring threat until Blair Schmitz drove to the basket with 4:06 left to cut it to 28-27 to break a four-minute scoring drought. DeKalb switched to their man to man, but Jacqueline Schulte posted up and scored to tie it at 30 before DeKalb hit a baseline shot with six seconds left in the third to go back ahead.
Northeast made a key adjustment that made a big difference from last time -- they went to a 1-3-1 zone which made it a lot more difficult for Gillis to drive at will against them like she did in the first game. For the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, the game looked like it would be a repeat of the last game, which went to the wire. The only score during that frame was a free throw from Reagan that allowed DeKalb to match its largest lead of the game at 33-30. But all of a sudden, Jacqueline Schulte made a clutch play as she has done so often throughout the past three years as she drove straight down the middle of the trap again for a layup with 5:34 left. That seemed to burst open a dam. DeKalb threw up a quick shot to respond, but it went astray and Michelle Schulte got the defensive board and went coast to coast, dishing off to Blair Schmitz to put Northeast up to stay. Northeast got another defensive stop and got the ball to Schmitz against the trap, but the Tigers overextended, leaving Kristin Sherry all alone for the layup. Sherry added a free throw to make it 37-33 with 3:36 left.
Gillis got a putback to cut it to two and Emily Bryant missed an open baseline shot. But Kristin Sherry was there for the putback to make it a four-point game again at 39-35. The Bluejays got another stop and then Northeast began running out the clock as DeKalb went to their full court press. Northeast went six for eight down the stretch from the line as Kristin Sherry, Blair Schmitz, Jacqueline Schulte, and Cammi Hansen all had free throws during the stretch; Michelle Schulte had a steal and drive as well to account for the scoring. Krista Harvey made a meaningless 3-pointer with 12.8 seconds to account for the final score.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Long Ways to go for Bluejay Girls.
When playing tough teams, one tends to learn a lot about themselves that they might not have otherwise. And so it was for Northeast Nodaway's girls in their 73-54 loss to Craig/Fairfax (CFX). The first lesson is that they can score against almost everyone short of Jefferson. But the second is that they have a long ways to go before they can challenge either CFX or Jefferson in the upcoming district tournament in Burlington Junction. And with the season winding down, the Bluejays have to get better in a hurry.
"We had to hold them under 45 to have a chance to win," said Coach Ryan Davis. But not only did Northeast fail to buy a stop, they allowed CFX's two best players, Amanda Geib (25 points) and Whitney Harrington (21 points), to combine for over 45 points alone. The trouble began when Blair Schmitz picked up two quick fouls at the start of the game, allowing CFX to turn a manageable 6-4 deficit into a 28-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter, as nobody was able to stop Geib in the post from scoring at will. She was constantly getting behind defenders for backdoor layups as CFX ran their weave offense against the man to man to perfection; when Northeast went to a zone to try to stop her, Harrington would drop 3-pointers. And if Northeast would help out on Geib, Harrington would go to the basket and either dish off or go in for the layup.
Schmitz picked up her third foul early in the second quarter, but Northeast prevented it from getting any worse. Michelle Schulte, who has been improving her point production, had a 3-pointer and Kristin Sherry took a charge at the end of the half which seemed to fire up Northeast going into the second half. When the Bluejays took the floor in the beginning of the third, they looked like a completely different team. "We played our A game in the second half," said Davis. "Our players have to understand that in order to beat Jefferson, South Nodaway, and CFX, we have to play our A game the whole time."
Jacqueline Schulte hit two 3-pointers right off the bat and Michelle Schulte added another one as Northeast got right back in the game with a 10-0 run. Taylor Dougan came off the bench to hit another 3-pointer and Michelle Schulte hit a pair of free throws and Northeast got the game back into single digits at 43-35. Then, at the start of the fourth, Kristin Sherry hit from the right corner after some good ball reversal and Michelle Schulte hit a 3-pointer after a kickout from Jacqueline to make it 48-42. But the bugs that have been haunting Northeast all year came back to bite as they had a chance to cut it to four, but failed to use the backboard on a close-range shot.
CFX never gave them another chance as they went back to attacking the basket and getting easy looks for Geib and Harrington as CFX got into the bonus and got back in control. Their free throw shooting was a key stat in the game as they made 20 out of their 24 free throws on the night. A 3-point play from Geib and free throws from Geib and Harrington pushed the margin back to 58-44, and the Bulldogs got a ton of easy layups down the stretch to push the margin back to 19.
"We had to hold them under 45 to have a chance to win," said Coach Ryan Davis. But not only did Northeast fail to buy a stop, they allowed CFX's two best players, Amanda Geib (25 points) and Whitney Harrington (21 points), to combine for over 45 points alone. The trouble began when Blair Schmitz picked up two quick fouls at the start of the game, allowing CFX to turn a manageable 6-4 deficit into a 28-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter, as nobody was able to stop Geib in the post from scoring at will. She was constantly getting behind defenders for backdoor layups as CFX ran their weave offense against the man to man to perfection; when Northeast went to a zone to try to stop her, Harrington would drop 3-pointers. And if Northeast would help out on Geib, Harrington would go to the basket and either dish off or go in for the layup.
Schmitz picked up her third foul early in the second quarter, but Northeast prevented it from getting any worse. Michelle Schulte, who has been improving her point production, had a 3-pointer and Kristin Sherry took a charge at the end of the half which seemed to fire up Northeast going into the second half. When the Bluejays took the floor in the beginning of the third, they looked like a completely different team. "We played our A game in the second half," said Davis. "Our players have to understand that in order to beat Jefferson, South Nodaway, and CFX, we have to play our A game the whole time."
Jacqueline Schulte hit two 3-pointers right off the bat and Michelle Schulte added another one as Northeast got right back in the game with a 10-0 run. Taylor Dougan came off the bench to hit another 3-pointer and Michelle Schulte hit a pair of free throws and Northeast got the game back into single digits at 43-35. Then, at the start of the fourth, Kristin Sherry hit from the right corner after some good ball reversal and Michelle Schulte hit a 3-pointer after a kickout from Jacqueline to make it 48-42. But the bugs that have been haunting Northeast all year came back to bite as they had a chance to cut it to four, but failed to use the backboard on a close-range shot.
CFX never gave them another chance as they went back to attacking the basket and getting easy looks for Geib and Harrington as CFX got into the bonus and got back in control. Their free throw shooting was a key stat in the game as they made 20 out of their 24 free throws on the night. A 3-point play from Geib and free throws from Geib and Harrington pushed the margin back to 58-44, and the Bulldogs got a ton of easy layups down the stretch to push the margin back to 19.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Schulte Destroys North Andrew Box and One; Bluejay Girls Romp
North Andrew tried what several other teams have tried against the Bluejays this year -- go box and one and make someone besides Jacqueline Schulte beat them. Not only did the strategy backfire, it was Schulte who fueled the Bluejays' knockout punch of North Andrew in the first quarter, scoring 12 of Northeast's 14 points in the period, finishing with 18 points on the night as Northeast beat the Cardinals 51-19 Friday night in Platte Valley Conference action before the King City Tournament. Her 18 points were within one of the entire North Andrew team total.
North Andrew played with Northeast for exactly the first three minutes of the game, with the score tied 2-2. Then, Schulte began her outburst with a driving layup, knocked down a shot from the left corner, and later added a four point play when she got a putback with seven seconds left and then stole the ball and scored at the buzzer to make it 14-2.
Coach Ryan Davis said that the team was clicking on both offense and defense and that they just needed to finish shots better. "We ran our offenses and defenses well; we just need to finish around the basket." Davis said that was important if the Bluejays were to improve on its 56-44 loss to South Nodaway on Tuesday. "South Nodaway shot 60% for the game, and we shot only 30%," he said. "If you had told me that we were going to hold Sami Jackson to 9 points, I would have thought we were going to win." Davis said that the Bluejays actually took more shots from the field that game than the Longhorns. "They were all shots I wanted them to take. But we have been working on an offense that will help when other teams throw the box and one at us," he said. Davis said that when teams focused on shutting down Schulte, it was important for his team to find the other open shots.
But when it seemed like Northeast needed to convert easy baskets in the North Andrew game, it was Rachel Runde who came off the bench to spark the Bluejays. In the second quarter, she came off to knock down a shot in the paint and then drive the lane and dish to Blair Schmitz after a brief lull to start the second. Schulte added a steal off a tipped ball from Emily Bryant, and Northeast was up 22-4. Taylor Dougan came off the bench to hit a shot from the left corner at the buzzer as Northeast maintained its 18 point lead at the break at 26-8.
The lead grew to 24 early in the second half. Jacqueline Schulte got a putback after a steal, Kristin Sherry scored off another steal, and Schulte hit from the right wing to make it 32-8 at the 5:39 mark of the third quarter. The lead grew to 37-12 as Blair Schmitz converted a 3-point play when she spun around and shot over four defenders with 2:46 left.
North Andrew crept back to within 39-18 as Northeast was having trouble finishing close under the basket, but then Runde came off the bench and took one to the rack to close out the third quarter and spark Northeast going into the fourth. Michelle Schulte then went hard to the basket and drew fouls twice and went four for four from the line in the period and added a free throw line jumper when nobody picked her up. Kenzie Waldeier added a fast break bucket and Katelyn Miller scored on a putback to round out the scoring for Northeast.
North Andrew played with Northeast for exactly the first three minutes of the game, with the score tied 2-2. Then, Schulte began her outburst with a driving layup, knocked down a shot from the left corner, and later added a four point play when she got a putback with seven seconds left and then stole the ball and scored at the buzzer to make it 14-2.
Coach Ryan Davis said that the team was clicking on both offense and defense and that they just needed to finish shots better. "We ran our offenses and defenses well; we just need to finish around the basket." Davis said that was important if the Bluejays were to improve on its 56-44 loss to South Nodaway on Tuesday. "South Nodaway shot 60% for the game, and we shot only 30%," he said. "If you had told me that we were going to hold Sami Jackson to 9 points, I would have thought we were going to win." Davis said that the Bluejays actually took more shots from the field that game than the Longhorns. "They were all shots I wanted them to take. But we have been working on an offense that will help when other teams throw the box and one at us," he said. Davis said that when teams focused on shutting down Schulte, it was important for his team to find the other open shots.
But when it seemed like Northeast needed to convert easy baskets in the North Andrew game, it was Rachel Runde who came off the bench to spark the Bluejays. In the second quarter, she came off to knock down a shot in the paint and then drive the lane and dish to Blair Schmitz after a brief lull to start the second. Schulte added a steal off a tipped ball from Emily Bryant, and Northeast was up 22-4. Taylor Dougan came off the bench to hit a shot from the left corner at the buzzer as Northeast maintained its 18 point lead at the break at 26-8.
The lead grew to 24 early in the second half. Jacqueline Schulte got a putback after a steal, Kristin Sherry scored off another steal, and Schulte hit from the right wing to make it 32-8 at the 5:39 mark of the third quarter. The lead grew to 37-12 as Blair Schmitz converted a 3-point play when she spun around and shot over four defenders with 2:46 left.
North Andrew crept back to within 39-18 as Northeast was having trouble finishing close under the basket, but then Runde came off the bench and took one to the rack to close out the third quarter and spark Northeast going into the fourth. Michelle Schulte then went hard to the basket and drew fouls twice and went four for four from the line in the period and added a free throw line jumper when nobody picked her up. Kenzie Waldeier added a fast break bucket and Katelyn Miller scored on a putback to round out the scoring for Northeast.
North Andrew Routs Reeling NEN Boys
The Northeast Nodaway boys hit rock bottom when North Andrew routed them 58-26 in Friday night action before the King City tournament. The Bluejays had lost six out of its last seven games; however, all of their losses had at least been halfway competitive. But the North Andrew game was completely noncompetitive after the first quarter as Northeast could not maintain a torrid start and played its worst game of the year in losing to the Cardinals.
It was a typical example of Northeast's inconsistency this year that they scored 10 points in the first four minutes and scored only 16 points for the rest of the game. Colby Wiederholt scored six points during that span on an inside shot, a pair of free throws off a fast break, and a tough shot over a host of defenders. Tyler Davis added a couple of putbacks, and Northeast was keeping up with a fast-paced North Andrew squad, leading them 10-8 at the 4:27 mark.
But then Northeast could no longer keep up the pace and North Andrew used an 11-0 run to go ahead for good at 19-10, mostly on an array of fast breaks, free throws, putbacks, and easy buckets against the Bluejays, who were much slower. A typical example of Northeast's soft defense came at the end of the first quarter. Tyler Davis hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the period to cut it to six, only to have the Cardinals push it right back down the court and hit a layup with five seconds left to counter.
It was one of those "here we go again" moments as Coach Charlie Burch began shuttling people in and out, trying to find five people who could put it all together on the court. Josh Wiederholt, Clayton Judd, and Alec Scroggie all got extended playing time as Northeast went down the bench trying to find someone who could stop the fast-paced Cardinals from running up and down the court.
Davis tried to shoot Northeast back into the game, hitting an NBA 3-pointer to make it 25-16 with 5:59 left, but North Andrew answered with a pair of backdoor layups, a steal, and another layup inside to make it 32-16. Northeast only managed one other bucket, a 3-pointer from Josh Wideman with 1:19 from the left baseline, as the Bluejays trailed 40-20 at the break.
Things went from bad to worse in the third quarter. Colby Wiederholt scored off a backdoor layup right off the bat against the Cardinals; however, that was the last scoring Northeast would do until the closing seconds of the period. In between, there were defensive lapses, unforced turnovers, and a lot of dribbling without a purpose as North Andrew raised its lead to 50-22 before Brad Stoll came off the bench to score off a putback with 40 seconds left. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the only points from Northeast were from a driving layup from Wiederholt with 5:41 left; North Andrew cleared its bench, but their reserves continued to pull away from the Bluejays.
It was a typical example of Northeast's inconsistency this year that they scored 10 points in the first four minutes and scored only 16 points for the rest of the game. Colby Wiederholt scored six points during that span on an inside shot, a pair of free throws off a fast break, and a tough shot over a host of defenders. Tyler Davis added a couple of putbacks, and Northeast was keeping up with a fast-paced North Andrew squad, leading them 10-8 at the 4:27 mark.
But then Northeast could no longer keep up the pace and North Andrew used an 11-0 run to go ahead for good at 19-10, mostly on an array of fast breaks, free throws, putbacks, and easy buckets against the Bluejays, who were much slower. A typical example of Northeast's soft defense came at the end of the first quarter. Tyler Davis hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the period to cut it to six, only to have the Cardinals push it right back down the court and hit a layup with five seconds left to counter.
It was one of those "here we go again" moments as Coach Charlie Burch began shuttling people in and out, trying to find five people who could put it all together on the court. Josh Wiederholt, Clayton Judd, and Alec Scroggie all got extended playing time as Northeast went down the bench trying to find someone who could stop the fast-paced Cardinals from running up and down the court.
Davis tried to shoot Northeast back into the game, hitting an NBA 3-pointer to make it 25-16 with 5:59 left, but North Andrew answered with a pair of backdoor layups, a steal, and another layup inside to make it 32-16. Northeast only managed one other bucket, a 3-pointer from Josh Wideman with 1:19 from the left baseline, as the Bluejays trailed 40-20 at the break.
Things went from bad to worse in the third quarter. Colby Wiederholt scored off a backdoor layup right off the bat against the Cardinals; however, that was the last scoring Northeast would do until the closing seconds of the period. In between, there were defensive lapses, unforced turnovers, and a lot of dribbling without a purpose as North Andrew raised its lead to 50-22 before Brad Stoll came off the bench to score off a putback with 40 seconds left. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the only points from Northeast were from a driving layup from Wiederholt with 5:41 left; North Andrew cleared its bench, but their reserves continued to pull away from the Bluejays.
Monday, December 15, 2008
NEN Girls Make Statement with 52-22 Rout of Stanberry
Northeast Nodaway's girls made a statement with their 52-22 rout of Stanberry. In what was supposed to be a defensive struggle between two of the better teams of the area. Instead, Northeast's win established them as one of the teams to beat this year while Stanberry, following two losses in the Albany tournament, was left reeling and searching for answers after one of their worst defeats in recent memory.
Blair Schmitz started off the scoring with a shot from the baseline while Jacqueline Schulte added a shot with 5:47 to put Northeast up 4-0. But from there, it turned into a slow defensive struggle for the next three minutes as Stanberry was only able to muster a pair of free throws while Northeast could not manage a bucket. But then Jacqueline Schulte connected from the wing and then Michelle Schulte, as she has done so many times, changed the momentum of the game as she followed with a steal and layup that made it 8-2. From there, Northeast began to pull away as Stanberry could not manage a field gol until the 2:05 mark of the second quarter.
In the meantime, Jessica Redden came off the bench to feed Blair Schmitz a perfect high-low pass and 3-point play to make it 11-4 with 40 seconds left. Northeast tacked on a bucket at the first quarter buzzer as Kristin Sherry hit a layup at the buzzer from another high-low pass. Schmitz, working against a defender four inches taller, started the second quarter scoring with an inside shot to make it 15-4.
Stanberry used a pair of free throws to cut it to 15-6 and there was a brief lull in the scoring; however, Jacqueline Schulte broke the ice with a three-point play on a putback and then Blair Schmitz scored off an Oleze steal. The bench then got in on the act as Emily Bryant posted up a defender to score from inside and then Cammi Hansen stole an errant pass to make it 24-6. Bryant scored four more points in the quarter while Jacqueline Schulte added a pair of free throws after a steal and Schmitz got a feed from Hansen for an inside shot to round out the scoring for Northeast, which led 32-10 at the break. Northeast's pressure defense was in high gear that half, forcing 15 Stanberry turnovers.
Hallie Oleze scored off a backdoor cut after Northeast ran off 1:05 to start the second half, but then Stanberry made a run at Northeast as they scored the next seven points to cut it to 34-17 with 4:03 left. But following a timeout, Blair Schmitz outworked the taller Stanberry players for a putback and Michelle Schulte connected with 2:59 left to stop the run. Stanberry answered Schulte's bucket with a 3-pointer, but Blair Schmitz hit a left-hander from the top of the key, Jacqueline Schulte stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit two free throws, and Michelle Schulte stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Northeast was off to the races again. Kristin Sherry got a putback and then Hallie Oleze's shot from the top of the key was a dagger that left Northeast up 48-20 after three quarters of play. Michelle Schulte got a putback and got a steal and drive to round out the scoring for Northeast and trigger the running clock.
Blair Schmitz started off the scoring with a shot from the baseline while Jacqueline Schulte added a shot with 5:47 to put Northeast up 4-0. But from there, it turned into a slow defensive struggle for the next three minutes as Stanberry was only able to muster a pair of free throws while Northeast could not manage a bucket. But then Jacqueline Schulte connected from the wing and then Michelle Schulte, as she has done so many times, changed the momentum of the game as she followed with a steal and layup that made it 8-2. From there, Northeast began to pull away as Stanberry could not manage a field gol until the 2:05 mark of the second quarter.
In the meantime, Jessica Redden came off the bench to feed Blair Schmitz a perfect high-low pass and 3-point play to make it 11-4 with 40 seconds left. Northeast tacked on a bucket at the first quarter buzzer as Kristin Sherry hit a layup at the buzzer from another high-low pass. Schmitz, working against a defender four inches taller, started the second quarter scoring with an inside shot to make it 15-4.
Stanberry used a pair of free throws to cut it to 15-6 and there was a brief lull in the scoring; however, Jacqueline Schulte broke the ice with a three-point play on a putback and then Blair Schmitz scored off an Oleze steal. The bench then got in on the act as Emily Bryant posted up a defender to score from inside and then Cammi Hansen stole an errant pass to make it 24-6. Bryant scored four more points in the quarter while Jacqueline Schulte added a pair of free throws after a steal and Schmitz got a feed from Hansen for an inside shot to round out the scoring for Northeast, which led 32-10 at the break. Northeast's pressure defense was in high gear that half, forcing 15 Stanberry turnovers.
Hallie Oleze scored off a backdoor cut after Northeast ran off 1:05 to start the second half, but then Stanberry made a run at Northeast as they scored the next seven points to cut it to 34-17 with 4:03 left. But following a timeout, Blair Schmitz outworked the taller Stanberry players for a putback and Michelle Schulte connected with 2:59 left to stop the run. Stanberry answered Schulte's bucket with a 3-pointer, but Blair Schmitz hit a left-hander from the top of the key, Jacqueline Schulte stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit two free throws, and Michelle Schulte stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Northeast was off to the races again. Kristin Sherry got a putback and then Hallie Oleze's shot from the top of the key was a dagger that left Northeast up 48-20 after three quarters of play. Michelle Schulte got a putback and got a steal and drive to round out the scoring for Northeast and trigger the running clock.
Northeast Girls Rout Former Player's Team.
Northeast Nodaway's girls were matched against Ashley (Pride) Yount, coaching the North Nodaway Mustangs. Yount was one of many strong post players that Northeast Nodaway has produced, leading the Bluejays to their last trip to the Final Four in 2002 after coming close in 2001 along with Abbie Steins and Heather Wiederholt and Talina Cannon and Megan Wiederholt. But, coaching against the Bluejays for the first time, Yount could not find the answers as her alma mater routed the Mustangs 59-35 in Tuesday night action.
The Mustangs could do no right in that game, while Northeast could do no wrong. North Nodaway, which had been a hot shooting team against Worth County, could not hit the broad side of a barn against the Northeast pressure; they forced 41 turnovers against Worth County with their press the night before; however, Northeast broke the Hopkins press with ease, getting som easy layups against it in the first quarter, and forcing them out of it for the rest of the game; the Bluejays forced 15 first-half turnovers of their own in building a 39-11 lead.
Jacqueline Schulte started off the scoring for Northeast by scoring off a steal and then scoring off a Blair Schmitz steal. Once the bench got in on the act, Northeast pulled away; Hallie Oelze scored on a fast break against the press off a feed from Cammi Hansen and later got a steal and drive. Emily Bryant came off the bench to score a layup off a missed shot on the other end and later, Blair Schmitz, who was sprawled on the ground, nonetheless got off a pass to Bryant for a layup to make it 12-2. North Nodaway cut it to 12-6; however, Northeast pushed the ball up the floor with eight seconds left and Schmitz hit a layup at the buzzer to make it 14-6 after one quarter of play.
Michelle Schulte opened the quarter with a pair of free throws after going coast to coast. While she only had two points in the period, Kristen Sherry played a strong floor game for Northeast as she ran the floor and created an easy layup for Hallie Oelze; she would later get a quick outlet to Michelle Schulte for a layup after getting a defensive board and then run the floor for a layup. Michelle Schulte had back to back steals which turned the game into a rout as Bryant and Schmitz got layups out of her efforts. Trailing 28-11 with 2:09 left in the half, North Nodaway called a timeout to try to stem the bleeding, but it was Northeast which closed out the half on a strong run as Rachel Runde came off the bench to give the Bluejays a spark. Runde fed Schmitz on a high-low play and would find Bryant all alone after stealing an inbounds pass; Jacqueline Schulte would convert a 3-point play to close out the half. Runde showed that she was one of the most improved players from the first game, as she constantly harassed North Nodaway's leading scorer, Kylie Schulter, into mistakes and turnovers on defense.
Northeast continued to pull away in the third quarter and led by as much as 53-13. Hopkins tried to pack it inside to shut down the post play of Blair Schmitz; however, that just opened scoring opportunities for Kristen Sherry and Jacqueline Schulte from the outside. Schmitz added a bucket of her own and Oelze connected from the high post. North Nodaway scored the bulk of their points against Northeast's second, third, and fourth string late in the game.
The Mustangs could do no right in that game, while Northeast could do no wrong. North Nodaway, which had been a hot shooting team against Worth County, could not hit the broad side of a barn against the Northeast pressure; they forced 41 turnovers against Worth County with their press the night before; however, Northeast broke the Hopkins press with ease, getting som easy layups against it in the first quarter, and forcing them out of it for the rest of the game; the Bluejays forced 15 first-half turnovers of their own in building a 39-11 lead.
Jacqueline Schulte started off the scoring for Northeast by scoring off a steal and then scoring off a Blair Schmitz steal. Once the bench got in on the act, Northeast pulled away; Hallie Oelze scored on a fast break against the press off a feed from Cammi Hansen and later got a steal and drive. Emily Bryant came off the bench to score a layup off a missed shot on the other end and later, Blair Schmitz, who was sprawled on the ground, nonetheless got off a pass to Bryant for a layup to make it 12-2. North Nodaway cut it to 12-6; however, Northeast pushed the ball up the floor with eight seconds left and Schmitz hit a layup at the buzzer to make it 14-6 after one quarter of play.
Michelle Schulte opened the quarter with a pair of free throws after going coast to coast. While she only had two points in the period, Kristen Sherry played a strong floor game for Northeast as she ran the floor and created an easy layup for Hallie Oelze; she would later get a quick outlet to Michelle Schulte for a layup after getting a defensive board and then run the floor for a layup. Michelle Schulte had back to back steals which turned the game into a rout as Bryant and Schmitz got layups out of her efforts. Trailing 28-11 with 2:09 left in the half, North Nodaway called a timeout to try to stem the bleeding, but it was Northeast which closed out the half on a strong run as Rachel Runde came off the bench to give the Bluejays a spark. Runde fed Schmitz on a high-low play and would find Bryant all alone after stealing an inbounds pass; Jacqueline Schulte would convert a 3-point play to close out the half. Runde showed that she was one of the most improved players from the first game, as she constantly harassed North Nodaway's leading scorer, Kylie Schulter, into mistakes and turnovers on defense.
Northeast continued to pull away in the third quarter and led by as much as 53-13. Hopkins tried to pack it inside to shut down the post play of Blair Schmitz; however, that just opened scoring opportunities for Kristen Sherry and Jacqueline Schulte from the outside. Schmitz added a bucket of her own and Oelze connected from the high post. North Nodaway scored the bulk of their points against Northeast's second, third, and fourth string late in the game.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Clown Prince of Basketball entertains WC Students
School ended early for Worth County students Friday as they were entertained by former ABA player Valentino Willis, the self-described Clown Prince of Basketball. Along the way, Willis talked to students about the need to stay clear of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. "I have traveled all over the world and all over, there are kids who think it is cool to do drugs," he said. "I’ve gotten letters from principals who had students die from using too much drugs."
Willis said that it was OK to have fun and that it could be done without using them; he proved his point by keeping the assembly rolling in laughter and teaching people various ball-handling tricks. "Some kids want to fight with their teachers and principals," he said. "But they do what they do because they love you," he said. He said that it was very important for kids to do homework and that "you are never too old or too young to start learning."
Keeping off of drugs starts with parents, said Willis. "If your kids see you smoking or drinking, they will want to act like you," he said. "Talk to your little ones. We may have a doctor or a teacher or a lawyer. Knowledge is power." He said that alcohol takes the future of our kids away and that "you are the future of the world." And he said that it also starts with love. "I want everyone to go home and give mom and dad a big hug and tell them you love them," he said. "There is not enough love in this world today."
Willis said that he spoke from personal experience; he was friends with the late Maryland star Len Bias, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics and died that very night from a drug overdose. "He would tell me, ‘Valentino, all I ever want to do is make it to the NBA,’" said Willis. But when Len Bias got drafted, he decided to do something that he had never done before -- he went to a party, got high on cocaine, and died of the resultant overdose. "That was the first time he every tried drugs," said Willis. "That’s why I travel all over the country asking students not to use drugs."
"Please don’t give your teachers and parents and coaches a hard time; they are here for you," he finished. Willis then led the assembly in applause for the teachers, coaches, school employees, parents, and grandparents. Willis then called out 25 different elementary and high school students and got them in a circle where he would throw them the ball and they had to catch it or get knocked out. He would throw the ball several times in a row at some of the more sure-handed students and would sometimes try to surprise people with no-look passes or surprise passes from various parts of his body.
Willis then led a group of students in a layup race, where the object was for the teams to make all their layups before the other teams did. But at the end of the day, Willis told them that it didn’t matter who won; they were all winners.
Willis said that it was OK to have fun and that it could be done without using them; he proved his point by keeping the assembly rolling in laughter and teaching people various ball-handling tricks. "Some kids want to fight with their teachers and principals," he said. "But they do what they do because they love you," he said. He said that it was very important for kids to do homework and that "you are never too old or too young to start learning."
Keeping off of drugs starts with parents, said Willis. "If your kids see you smoking or drinking, they will want to act like you," he said. "Talk to your little ones. We may have a doctor or a teacher or a lawyer. Knowledge is power." He said that alcohol takes the future of our kids away and that "you are the future of the world." And he said that it also starts with love. "I want everyone to go home and give mom and dad a big hug and tell them you love them," he said. "There is not enough love in this world today."
Willis said that he spoke from personal experience; he was friends with the late Maryland star Len Bias, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics and died that very night from a drug overdose. "He would tell me, ‘Valentino, all I ever want to do is make it to the NBA,’" said Willis. But when Len Bias got drafted, he decided to do something that he had never done before -- he went to a party, got high on cocaine, and died of the resultant overdose. "That was the first time he every tried drugs," said Willis. "That’s why I travel all over the country asking students not to use drugs."
"Please don’t give your teachers and parents and coaches a hard time; they are here for you," he finished. Willis then led the assembly in applause for the teachers, coaches, school employees, parents, and grandparents. Willis then called out 25 different elementary and high school students and got them in a circle where he would throw them the ball and they had to catch it or get knocked out. He would throw the ball several times in a row at some of the more sure-handed students and would sometimes try to surprise people with no-look passes or surprise passes from various parts of his body.
Willis then led a group of students in a layup race, where the object was for the teams to make all their layups before the other teams did. But at the end of the day, Willis told them that it didn’t matter who won; they were all winners.
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