 |
| NEWS-TRIBUNE PHOTO BY CHRIS TODD
WCLT’s Hannah Kofron shoots from in close during the Lady Tigers’ win over West Bend Mallard last Jan. 6 in Crystal Lake. |
WCLT girls go three for three during week
By CHRIS TODD
of the News-Tribune
TERRIL - The offensive struggles continued last week for the Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka girls basketball team, but that didn't stop the Lady Tigers from posting three wins in three tries.
The secret to the team's success was defense. The Tigers played it well in wins over Graettinger-Terril, Corwith-Wesley-Luvurne and West Bend Mallard.
“Our defense continues to improve and has helped us overcome poor shooting from the floor,” said WCLT girls basketball coach Matt Erpelding, whose team entered this weeks play with a 6-3 mark.
“Hopefully, our shooting will return to the level that it was early in the season,” he added.
The coach said his team was frustrated last Friday night despite a 53-51 win at Graettinger-Terril.
“It was an offensive nightmare all night,” he said. “We missed numerous easy baskets and struggled to get good looks at the basket.
“We played flat and frustrated all night and you could see that on the floor.”
The Tigers were led by a strong overall performance by senior forward Alyssa Schwartz. Though mired in a shooting slump, the talented senior finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
“Alyssa struggled shooting the ball but is the only one who got on the boards for us,” Erpelding said. “And she created offense for us by taking the ball to the hole and getting looks for herself and teammates.”
The Lady Tigers and GT each scored 12 points in the first quarter, but WCLT outscored GT 17-16 in the second frame to take a 29-28 lead at halftime.
WCLT led 45-42 after three quarters. GT outscored WCLT 9-8 in the fourth frame before falling two points short.
“We seemed to be out of synch from pregame warmups until the final buzzer,” Erpelding said. “It was a sloppy game in terms of how it was being officiated, and that made it difficult for both teams to get into a flow.
The Tigers had been turning the ball over too much earlier this season, but had just 14 turnovers vs. GT.
“With everything considered, we did a good job taking care of the ball,” Erpelding said.
Nicole Bannister also had a strong game for WCLT, scoring 16 points with three rebounds and three assists. Senior Danielle Widen added eight points and Paige Heesch five.
WCLT had an easier time of it Jan. 5 with a 63-21 win over Corwith-Wesley-Luvurne. Defense was the key again as the Lady Tigers came away with 26 steals.
“The steals led to a lot of easy baskets,” Erpelding said. “We also controlled the boards and didn't give them many second-chance points.”
Widen led the way in scoring, netting a double-double with 20 points and ten rebounds. Schwartz finished with 14 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals. Paige Heesch added seven points.
“For our first game in three weeks, I thought we played alright,” Erpelding said.
Widen, Erpelding said, rebounded well and was nine of 13 from the floor. He added that Amanda Heesch played a good all around game and that Maranda Chapin and Sam Thilges came off the bench and contributed.
The Tigers took a 16-7 lead after one quarter and led 38-12 at the half and 55-19 at the last break.
“It was nice to get back to playing games again after the long layoff,” Erpelding said. “We made some changes over break and I liked what I saw in that respect.”
The following night, the Tigers had mixed results in a 64-43 home win over West Bend Mallard.
They led 17-13 after one quarter and 36-25 at the half, but were outscored 14-7 in the third quarter and took a 42-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers upped the tempo in the fourth quarter and won going away, outscoring WBM 21-4 in the last eight minutes.
Defense was the key, as the Tigers finished with 32 steals. However, the team continued to shoot free throws poorly, hitting just 12 of 31.
“Our defense made up for the poor shooting from the floor and the line, otherwise, it would have been a much easier game,” Erpelding said.
Schwartz played well on both ends of the game and finished with a double-double with 22 points and a school record 11 steals. Widen matched Schwartz' 22 points and pulled down 15 rebounds along with four steals. Paige Heesch hit two threes and finished with nine points.
Erpelding added that Anne Studer was a spark on defense while Amanda Heesch had another solid floor game.
Story created Jan 13, 2009 - 22:35:18 CST.
|
