Onekama closes strong to beat MCE

by Dylan Savela, Manistee News Advocate, Dec. 12, 2012

ONEKAMA — A bad quarter is better to be had early than late.

And Onekama’s furious finish Wednesday night made a cold second frame a distant memory in its 51-37 West Michigan D League victory over Mason County Eastern.

“I just told the girls to keep working, keep grinding at it,” said Portagers coach Nathan Bradford of a three-point quarter that led to a 23-17 halftime deficit. “Finally, in the fourth, it seemed like we picked up a spark, and found a little more energy.”

Onekama’s (3-0, 2-0 WMD) balanced attack, led by Martina Karlsdotter’s 10 points, broke through in a 15-point third, and erupted in a 19-point fourth.

Three Portagers finished the night with nine points in Kayla Kosiboski, Hailey Kott, and Alexis Tribfelner. Tawny Kott added eight points with three rebounds and three steals while Kosiboski led the team in boards with nine, and blocks with four.

The Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 WMD) were led by Abigail Wheeler’s 13 points, to go with nine from senior Elena Luce, who fouled out with 4:17 remaining in the fourth.

While MCE took advantage of Onekama’s early cold spell, its lead dwindled down the stretch thanks to turnovers in the backcourt.

“The difference was much like last Friday’s (loss to Manistee Catholic Central),” Cardinals coach Matt Millspaugh said. “We had too many turnovers. We didn’t have many in the first half, but the beginning of the third quarter, and then in the fourth, we just lost our minds with the basketball.

“We were making passes we had no business making. And then on top of that, we had too many silly fouls.”

The teams played back and fourth in the first, before the Portagers closed the frame with a 6-2 run for a 14-7 advantage.

In the second, however, Onekama couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket.

“We had to keep moving, stay active, and not fall in love with the first shot,” Bradford said. “We had to work the ball around, and get some movement, because it just seemed like we were making one pass and firing up the first shot we saw.”

The Cardinals scored the first 16 points in the second, and looked to have all the momentum after back-to-back three-point trips. Wheeler converted a three-point play, and Luce followed with a triple for a 23-14 lead with 1:27 before the break.

Onekama’s Caitlin Zielinski salvaged what she could of the Portagers’ shooting slump, and closed the half with a 3-pointer.

The third quarter was a different story for the Portagers as they outscored MCE 15-7 for a two-point lead heading into the fourth. The Portagers scored the first nine points of the final frame, and down the stretch, their press finally got the better of the frustrated Cardinals.

“We were going diamond press at first, but then we switched to man press,” Bradford explained. “I told the girls to match up, because we wanted to trap, and I think we picked up some energy by doing that.

“Those easy baskets off of turnovers can get the confidence back up again, so I thought that gave us a lift.”

MCE has dropped two straight league contests, but Millspaugh said he likes the direction his squad is heading.

“We played better than last Friday, so what we’re working on is playing four quarters,” he explained. “I’d say tonight we played about three. The effort was there, the rebounding was there. We played well for the most part except for a couple lapses of judgment.”

For the Portagers, the win keeps their undefeated season alive.

“Like we’ve been stressing, we’re focused on defense and rebounding,” Bradford said, “and the offense usually can come from that.”

The Onekama junior varsity team cruised to a 49-24 victory over MCE on Wednesday night, and was led by Emma Putney with 18 points as Hanah Gilbert added 10.

by Dylan Savela, for Manistee News Advocate on-line