By DYLAN SAVELA, Manistee News Advocate
Sports Writer
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
ONEKAMA — Before Onekama could close out its
regular season, it had to do some climbing.
The Portagers found themselves in a quick hole Tuesday night as Brethren
jumped out to an 11-0 lead, but with some resilience, Onekama overcame
the deficit to top the Bobcats, 59-52.
“They came out making everything, and at the same time I don’t think our
defense pressured them enough. It seemed like we came out flat,” Onekama
coach Nathan Bradford said. “I don’t want to take anything away from
Brethren though. I give them credit. They came out playing really hard.
“I told the girls we just had to keep plugging away, keep our hands in
the shooters’ face and keep working hard, and we should be able to
battle back.”
The Portagers (12-6, 11-5 WMD) did just that,
as junior Taylor Hagen led with a game-high 18 points, 10 rebounds,
three steals and three assists, Sherece Revolt had 16 points, six
rebounds, five steals and three assists, Jennica Mathieu had nine
points, six rebounds and three steals, Katie Prielipp had eight points,
three rebounds and three steals, and Jaylee Brown scored eight points
and grabbed six boards.
The Bobcats (1-17, 1-14 WMD) were in control off the bat however, as
point guard Elana Hickok opened the game with two straight 3-pointers en
route to a team high 13 points.
Shortly after, Brethren’s Lexi Lakso, who finished with 12 points,
converted from beyond the arc, and Sarah Colbrook, who finished with
four points, hit a pair of free throws to give the Bobcats their
11-point jump on the Portagers.
“We knew they were probably going to come out in zone, and if Elana gets
it going, she can shoot it,” Bobcats coach Warren Ostrander said of the
hot start. “It was nice to see Lexi finally step up and take an open
look when she had it too.”
Also contributing to the Brethren effort was Becca Priest with nine
points, Tiffany Capps with eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks,
Josie Judnic with four points, and Megan Regula with two.
Hickok had a team-high five assists while Lakso led in steals with four. |
The Bobcats held on to the lead the entire
first quarter by taking an 18-11 advantage into the second.
After Priest opened the quarter with a bucket, Onekama went on a 8-0 run
to bring the game within one point at 20-19 and took its first lead
midway through at 23-22.
“We had some lapses defensively and they got some easy looks and that
hurt us,” Ostrander said of losing the early lead. “We were playing hard
and getting after it, but sometimes when that happens, we forget to
think about what else we need to be doing.”
The lead exchanged two more times before halftime, as the Portagers took
a 32-31 edge into the break.
The Portagers started the second half with the first five points, but
the Bobcats would respond, closing the gap to a 45-43 Portager lead at
the end of three, and even tying the game at 45-45 to start the fourth.
However, with both teams in the bonus, Onekama was able to pull away
down the stretch by converting at the free throw line, making eight in
all.
“I told our girls to be strong with the ball and try to finish, we
missed a lot of easy puppies tonight, but we made our free throws down
the stretch,” Bradford said. “We didn’t shoot very good tonight, but I
think the main thing was we started showing a little more energy on
defense and then creating everything else from that.”
For the Bobcats, the 52-point scoring output was the most of the
season.
“I’m really proud of the effort,” Ostrander said. “That’s our best game
all year.
“I just think silly fouls got us in trouble tonight. They weren’t so
much aggressive fouls, but they got to the line quite a bit and they
were knocking down free throws and we weren’t.”
The Onekama junior varsity team topped the Bobcats 44-32.
Danielle Ward led the Portagers with 14 points while Lindsay Nesburg
added 10.
Brethren was paced by Ashleigh Maier with 11 and Annie MacNeil with 10. |
