Monday, February 9, 2009
State tournament
We got notification of the brackets for the state tournament. This will take place February 27 and 28 at Cross Lutheran in Yorkville. We open at 5:00 PM against Gurnee. Gurnee beat us pretty soundly last year - but so did Victory, so who knows? Appletree plays Crossroads in the other semifinal. If we win, we play Saturday at 9:00. If we lose, we play right away again at 7:00. Should be fun. CORRECTION: We will play Saturday at 3:00PM if we win, not 9:00AM.
Argggh!
Pardon my pirate, but this was a heartbreaker. The girls dropped a very tough one to Kankakee Trinity Academy tonight, 33-30.
Last year, the girls lost to Kankakee 44-35, but were trailing at the end of three by seventeen. The girls were able to make up some ground in the fourth with KTA's best player on the bench. This year was quite different.
The girls seemed to have broken their habit of starting out very slowly, with this game being the second one in a row in which they started very strongly. Rachel was a rebounding machine right off, with six boards in the first quarter. She also scored the first point, from the free throw line. From there the girls went out to a 5-3 lead, but gave up the last four points of the quarter to trail, 7-5. The quarter was marked by Rachel's rebounds, a lot of turnovers, and some strange (and some deserved) traveling calls. KTA played a 1-2-2 or a 1-3-1 defense, but after some initial pressure at half court, they dropped off and played tight to the basket.
The second quarter was similar to the first, with KTA causing a lot turnovers and scoring some down low. The score was 17-9 before Cassidy hit a shot that bounced very high off the rim, rattled around for awhile and finally fell through as the half-time buzzer went off.
The third quarter was remarkable. The girls played frenetic defense, Kara made some shots in the lane, Becca made a shot, and Lee hit a three. Kara and Lee were getting some steals, Kara by playing the passing lanes and Lee by sneaking up and taking the ball away. The girls outsccored KTA 13-4 in the quarter and led 24-21 at the end of three. The Patriot supporters were very excited, anticipating a possible second victory of the season.
The open of the fourth quarter did nothing to douse the hopes. The Patriots scored four of the first six points in the quarter and led 28-23. Then KTA went to an intense full court press, which we had trouble with, especially along the sidelines. The girls also seemed to continue to be somewhat flustered even when they crossed half-court. The result was a lot of turnovers and nine straight points for KTA. After scoring to pull within two, the teams exchanged turnovers until Rachel committed her fifth foul. The hosts made one of two free throws, then cranked up the full court press which resulted in another turnover for the Patriots, and KTA was then able to run out the clock.
All in all, a very exciting game, one which really showed the improvement of the girls' play and confidence.
Kara led in scoring with 16, Rachel had five, Becca had four, Lee had three and Cassidy had two. Rachel had 12 rebounds and Becca had 11. Kara had three assists and five steals; Lee also had five steals. Rachel led with three blocked shots. I counted 23 turnovers; I probably missed some.
Luther East on Thursday at 5:30. The first one with them was wild; hopefully this one will be wild and successful. See you there.
Last year, the girls lost to Kankakee 44-35, but were trailing at the end of three by seventeen. The girls were able to make up some ground in the fourth with KTA's best player on the bench. This year was quite different.
The girls seemed to have broken their habit of starting out very slowly, with this game being the second one in a row in which they started very strongly. Rachel was a rebounding machine right off, with six boards in the first quarter. She also scored the first point, from the free throw line. From there the girls went out to a 5-3 lead, but gave up the last four points of the quarter to trail, 7-5. The quarter was marked by Rachel's rebounds, a lot of turnovers, and some strange (and some deserved) traveling calls. KTA played a 1-2-2 or a 1-3-1 defense, but after some initial pressure at half court, they dropped off and played tight to the basket.
The second quarter was similar to the first, with KTA causing a lot turnovers and scoring some down low. The score was 17-9 before Cassidy hit a shot that bounced very high off the rim, rattled around for awhile and finally fell through as the half-time buzzer went off.
The third quarter was remarkable. The girls played frenetic defense, Kara made some shots in the lane, Becca made a shot, and Lee hit a three. Kara and Lee were getting some steals, Kara by playing the passing lanes and Lee by sneaking up and taking the ball away. The girls outsccored KTA 13-4 in the quarter and led 24-21 at the end of three. The Patriot supporters were very excited, anticipating a possible second victory of the season.
The open of the fourth quarter did nothing to douse the hopes. The Patriots scored four of the first six points in the quarter and led 28-23. Then KTA went to an intense full court press, which we had trouble with, especially along the sidelines. The girls also seemed to continue to be somewhat flustered even when they crossed half-court. The result was a lot of turnovers and nine straight points for KTA. After scoring to pull within two, the teams exchanged turnovers until Rachel committed her fifth foul. The hosts made one of two free throws, then cranked up the full court press which resulted in another turnover for the Patriots, and KTA was then able to run out the clock.
All in all, a very exciting game, one which really showed the improvement of the girls' play and confidence.
Kara led in scoring with 16, Rachel had five, Becca had four, Lee had three and Cassidy had two. Rachel had 12 rebounds and Becca had 11. Kara had three assists and five steals; Lee also had five steals. Rachel led with three blocked shots. I counted 23 turnovers; I probably missed some.
Luther East on Thursday at 5:30. The first one with them was wild; hopefully this one will be wild and successful. See you there.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Good half, then not so good
The second trip up to Arlington Heights to play Christian Liberty was not as painful as the first, but the result was the same, as the Patriots fell to the Chargers, 22-13.
Back in December the girls took on Christian Liberty in the third game of the year. Our inexperience and nervousness were very evident in a 31-11 loss. That game could have been worse had not CL's coach played his bench extensively in the second and fourth quarter. This time he had to play his starters their usual time, going to the bench only to give them breathers.
This was not the typical Patriot game. Strangely, the girls were ready and confident right from the start, and kind of surprised their hosts. On the first possession, Kara got the ball down low, kicked it out to Lee who made the basket. Next possession, Kara hit a shot and it was 4-0, Patriots. This seemed to wake up CL, and they played tougher defense from this point. However, our girls were playing a very aggressive man-to-man defense and was making it difficult for them. Our only other score for the rest of the quarter was a put-back by Becca, while CL got a couple of baskets and a free throw - score at the end of one, 6-5 Patriots.
The defenses really tightened up in the second. After starting in a man-to-man, the Patriots switched to a very active 2-3, which was just as effective. CL's defense was very strong as well, as they double teamed at the top quite a bit, and put a lot of pressure on the ball handlers. Rachel got the only basket for us in the quarter, while CL also only got one, but made a free throw to make the score 8-8 at half. We shot 1 for 11 in the quarter and CL shot one for eight. It was more the defense than bad shooting that caused this.
The third quarter was similar to the second, except the teams made some adjustments to deal with the good defenses. The difference in this quarter was the shooting - CL made a much better percentage of theirs. They took less shots, as the Patriots got a lot of turnovers, but they shot 33% in the quarter while the Patriots shot 11%. CL scored six in the quarter to the Patriots two, and the score was 14-10 at the end of three.
The hustling defense of the first three quarters seemed to wear out the girls, as they made poor passes and were not quite as sharp on defense as they were earlier. The lid that seemed to be on the basket for our girls stayed there, and we made a lot of turnovers. The girls got one basket to go down, which was a three by Kara to begin the quarter to pull us within one, but that was the last score we would make. CL scored the last eight points for the final score of 22-13. All in all, a much better game for the girls than the first time we played them. Putting the ball in the basket was the issue for the girls. They shot 6 for 38, and 0 for 6 from the free throw line. Many of the misses were easy ones. If the offense catches up with the defense, look out.
Stats for the game: Kara led in scoring with five, while Becca had four and Lee and Rachel had two each. Becca once again led in rebounding with 11; Rachel had 7. Kara, Rachel and Cassidy each had an assist. Rachel and Becca had a block apiece. Kara had 7 steals. Alyssa, playing the point for a good part of the game, had six turnovers and Kara had four.
Kankakee Trinity Academy is next on the schedule. The game is Monday at six at the community center, address is below in the calendar. Hope to see you there.
Back in December the girls took on Christian Liberty in the third game of the year. Our inexperience and nervousness were very evident in a 31-11 loss. That game could have been worse had not CL's coach played his bench extensively in the second and fourth quarter. This time he had to play his starters their usual time, going to the bench only to give them breathers.
This was not the typical Patriot game. Strangely, the girls were ready and confident right from the start, and kind of surprised their hosts. On the first possession, Kara got the ball down low, kicked it out to Lee who made the basket. Next possession, Kara hit a shot and it was 4-0, Patriots. This seemed to wake up CL, and they played tougher defense from this point. However, our girls were playing a very aggressive man-to-man defense and was making it difficult for them. Our only other score for the rest of the quarter was a put-back by Becca, while CL got a couple of baskets and a free throw - score at the end of one, 6-5 Patriots.
The defenses really tightened up in the second. After starting in a man-to-man, the Patriots switched to a very active 2-3, which was just as effective. CL's defense was very strong as well, as they double teamed at the top quite a bit, and put a lot of pressure on the ball handlers. Rachel got the only basket for us in the quarter, while CL also only got one, but made a free throw to make the score 8-8 at half. We shot 1 for 11 in the quarter and CL shot one for eight. It was more the defense than bad shooting that caused this.
The third quarter was similar to the second, except the teams made some adjustments to deal with the good defenses. The difference in this quarter was the shooting - CL made a much better percentage of theirs. They took less shots, as the Patriots got a lot of turnovers, but they shot 33% in the quarter while the Patriots shot 11%. CL scored six in the quarter to the Patriots two, and the score was 14-10 at the end of three.
The hustling defense of the first three quarters seemed to wear out the girls, as they made poor passes and were not quite as sharp on defense as they were earlier. The lid that seemed to be on the basket for our girls stayed there, and we made a lot of turnovers. The girls got one basket to go down, which was a three by Kara to begin the quarter to pull us within one, but that was the last score we would make. CL scored the last eight points for the final score of 22-13. All in all, a much better game for the girls than the first time we played them. Putting the ball in the basket was the issue for the girls. They shot 6 for 38, and 0 for 6 from the free throw line. Many of the misses were easy ones. If the offense catches up with the defense, look out.
Stats for the game: Kara led in scoring with five, while Becca had four and Lee and Rachel had two each. Becca once again led in rebounding with 11; Rachel had 7. Kara, Rachel and Cassidy each had an assist. Rachel and Becca had a block apiece. Kara had 7 steals. Alyssa, playing the point for a good part of the game, had six turnovers and Kara had four.
Kankakee Trinity Academy is next on the schedule. The game is Monday at six at the community center, address is below in the calendar. Hope to see you there.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Two Towers
No, I'm not going to review the second of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I'm just describing a couple of the starters for Grace Baptist Academy, against whom the Patriots played tonight. The Patriots had no answer for Grace's height and dropped their seventh of the year, 44-25.
I will now do my broken record impersonation: the girls started slowly tonight. From now on, I will abbreviate when I describe the girls' first quarter thusly: TGSST. Grace scored the first twelve points of the contest, mostly by lobbing the ball over our girls' heads to one of their two six-footers, who held the ball high above their heads while our girls jumped vainly for the ball like children being teased by a parent. These girls were not very skilled, but could put the ball in the basket from five feet away on occasion. Becca had a nice put-back basket right before the buzzer so the score at the end of one was 12-2.
The second quarter started like the first quarter, with Grace scoring the first eight points. Finally the girls started playing aggressively. Kara had a couple baskets and a free throw for the Patriots' five points in the quarter while Grace scored four more resulting in a halftime score of 24-7.
The girls added to their momentum to open the third. They played much stronger defense and some shots started falling. Becca had another rebound basket, Rachel went hard to the basket a few times resulting in six free throw attempts, of which she hit three, and Kara had a couple of threes. The Patriots outscored Grace 11-4 in the quarter. It was one of their best quarters of the year. Becca played especially well, getting four rebound on just one possession.
The girls had high hopes of continuing the rally in the fourth, but Grace put both of the big girls back in to begin the quarter, and they went back to throwing the ball to the in the post and there was little we could do about it. Our offense was decent, but we could not stop the opponents. Grace had sixteen to our seven in the quarter, resulting in the final nineteen point deficit.
Kara led in scoring with sixteen, while Rachel had five and Becca four. Becca had seventeen rebounds, which is now the team record for rebounds in the game. Alyssa has the lone assist in the game. Kara had four steals and Rachel had four blocks. Kara and Alyssa had three turnovers each. Andrew said that Becca got the game ball today.
The girls will now have a week-plus break until the next game next Friday at Christian Liberty up in Arlington Heights.
I will now do my broken record impersonation: the girls started slowly tonight. From now on, I will abbreviate when I describe the girls' first quarter thusly: TGSST. Grace scored the first twelve points of the contest, mostly by lobbing the ball over our girls' heads to one of their two six-footers, who held the ball high above their heads while our girls jumped vainly for the ball like children being teased by a parent. These girls were not very skilled, but could put the ball in the basket from five feet away on occasion. Becca had a nice put-back basket right before the buzzer so the score at the end of one was 12-2.
The second quarter started like the first quarter, with Grace scoring the first eight points. Finally the girls started playing aggressively. Kara had a couple baskets and a free throw for the Patriots' five points in the quarter while Grace scored four more resulting in a halftime score of 24-7.
The girls added to their momentum to open the third. They played much stronger defense and some shots started falling. Becca had another rebound basket, Rachel went hard to the basket a few times resulting in six free throw attempts, of which she hit three, and Kara had a couple of threes. The Patriots outscored Grace 11-4 in the quarter. It was one of their best quarters of the year. Becca played especially well, getting four rebound on just one possession.
The girls had high hopes of continuing the rally in the fourth, but Grace put both of the big girls back in to begin the quarter, and they went back to throwing the ball to the in the post and there was little we could do about it. Our offense was decent, but we could not stop the opponents. Grace had sixteen to our seven in the quarter, resulting in the final nineteen point deficit.
Kara led in scoring with sixteen, while Rachel had five and Becca four. Becca had seventeen rebounds, which is now the team record for rebounds in the game. Alyssa has the lone assist in the game. Kara had four steals and Rachel had four blocks. Kara and Alyssa had three turnovers each. Andrew said that Becca got the game ball today.
The girls will now have a week-plus break until the next game next Friday at Christian Liberty up in Arlington Heights.
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