Falcons fall short in tight loss to Buccaneers, 48-39
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford girls basketball team played their first Marawood-North conference game last Tuesday, hosting the Prentice Buccaneers while in search of their first win of the season. While the Falcons were certainly in their best position all year to grab that win, the visiting Buccaneers were able to pull away in the final minutes to deal Abbotsford a 48-39 loss.
While the two teams final stat lines appeared very similar, the primary difference that shifted the game in Prentice’s favor was their ability to get to the free throw line. Though Abbotsford made a higher percentage of their shots from the charity stripe, 66.7 percent to Prentice’s 43.3 percent, the Buccaneers had over three times as many shots from the line, garnering 30 attempts to Abbotsford’s nine.
Nine of those free throw attempts for Prentice came in the final two minutes, and while the Buccaneers only made five of those, it was still enough to put distance between themselves and the Falcons in what had otherwise been a close game.
A field goal from Jackie Soto with four minutes left brought the Falcons back within a possession at 39-36. Nevaeh Treankler then turned a steal into a layup and Azul Diaz hit a free throw with just under two minutes left to tie the game at 39-39.
Those would be the last points the Falcons would score, however, as Prentice scored nine unanswered points to end the contest. An offensive rebound off a missed free throw on the Buccaneers’ possession following the tying free throw by Diaz turned into a quick basket for Prentice, putting them back on top. A turnover by the Falcons gave the ball right back to the visitors, who took advantage and converted on an old-fashioned three point play, getting a layup and subsequent free throw to fall. Abbotsford managed just two more shots the rest of the game as turnovers continued down the stretch.
While the Falcons ultimately fell, they held tough with Prentice all evening. After falling behind 9-2, Abbotsford rattled off
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comeback. Decker sank a quick three for the Falcons a few seconds after Greenwood’s basket and kicked off a run that would turn the game into a blowout.
Over the next eight and a half minutes, the Falcons scored 22 straight points. They forced Greenwood into 21 turnovers over that stretch, 12 of which came via steals. Totzke led the way in scoring for the Falcons, scoring 12 points and hitting a corner three that put Abbotsford up 37-4.
While the Indians picked up seven points over the final five minutes of the period, Abbotsford’s advantage only grew and they took a 52-11 lead into halftime.
Turnovers continued to pile up for the visitors in the opening minutes of the second period. Their first seven possessions ended without a shot, six of them concluding in a steal by the Falcons. While they lacked some of the same efficiency on offense they had in the first half, two threes courtesy of Decker allowed Abbotsford to take a 62-14 lead.
A basket from Perez extended the home team’s advantage past the 50 point mark with 11 minutes left in the contest and the game slowed from there, both teams scoring a combined 16 points over the final stretch.
Totzke recorded a double-double in the win, putting up 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also had eight steals, five assists and one block to lead the Falcons across the board.
Decker finished the game with four makes from beyond the arc and 16 points. Brodhagen had eight points, Aguilera added seven points, five steals and three assists and Garcia had six points. Fuentes scored five points, Schreiber, Perez and Bautista all ended the game with two points and Sheahan had one point.
TWO HAND SLAM - Grayson Totzke goes up for the dunk on a transition basket for the Falcons in their win over Greenwood.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
