Onekama can’t get offense rolling: Portagers dig early hole, fall to
Falcons
By
DYLAN SAVELA
Sports Writer Manistee News Advocate
Published: Tuesday, January 11, 2011
ONEKAMA — Though the lead was never out of
striking distance Monday night, it remained elusive for Onekama in a
38-27 loss to Pentwater.
Baskets were just too few and far between for the Portagers.
“We really struggled making our shots,” said Onekama coach Nathan
Bradford after the West Michigan D League loss. “We kept trying, but
you’re going to have some nights where they just don’t fall. The
main thing is just to keep playing hard.
"We didn't give up, but it seemed like the
first three quarters we were just flat." Onekama (3-5, 3-4 WMD)
managed just one field goal in the first quarter to start off in a
10-3 hole. The Portagers put together a pair of 10-point quarters
with runs in the second and the fourth, but a four-point third and a
5-for-16 outing at the charity stripe, throughout, didn't help the
comeback effort.
“When we did make little runs,” Bradford
explained, “it seemed like they’d come down and make a couple more
baskets too.”
Pentwater (4-4, 4-3 WMD) connected on six 3-pointers in the contest —
four from Falcon senior Sara Lillie, who tied a game-high 13 points with
teammate Megan Silvers. Silvers also had 11 rebounds, four assists,
three steals and two blocks on the night.
For the Portagers, Jennica Mathieu led the way with nine points, five
rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Danielle Ward had seven points
and 11 rebounds, Lindsay Nesburg scored five, Taylor Hagen had four
points, six rebounds and two blocks and Nicole Slater chipped in two
points. |
“We sat back in a zone and wanted to focus on
(Mathieu) and (Hagen) because I remember them from last year, and knew
they’re pretty good scorers,” Pentwater coach Ashley Wojtas said. “But
our main goal tonight was to execute on offense. We wanted to dump it in
the post and hopefully get a couple outside shots too when they’re
forced to kick out.”
The strategy worked early on as the Falcons opened the game with a pair
of 3s for an initial 6-0 lead, and connected on a pair more in the
second quarter.
The Portagers saw an offensive spurt in the second, when they went on an
8-2 run in a three-minute span. But Pentwater managed to keep a lead,
taking an 18-13 advantage into the break.
Both sides came out of halftime cold, as nearly four minutes went by
without a single point scored. Silvers ended the drought with a
three-point play at 4:22 en route to six third-quarter points. Onekama
had just two field goals in the third — the first from Nesburg at 2:24
and the second from Ward with just five seconds remaining before the
fourth.
“In the second half we wanted to take our time, let the clock run a
little bit, and dump it into the post,” Wojtas said. With the strategy,
her team saw its biggest lead extend to 16 with a 36-20 advantage at
5:31 remaining.
However, Onekama made it difficult for the Falcons in the waning minutes
with full court defensive pressure, which forced Pentwater into five
backcourt turnovers.
“We didn’t play the greatest on offense, but we were still in the game
down the stretch,” Bradford said. “So that must mean we were working
hard defensively. If we played the whole game like we did the last four
minutes, with a bit more enthusiasm, it might have been different.”
Despite ending the game on a 7-2 run, Onekama was unable to overcome its
shooting woes earlier in the contest. |
