Falcon girls bounced by three Marawood opponents
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford girls basketball team suffered a trio of conference losses last week, losing to Phillips at home before falling to Assumption and Rib Lake in consecutive road games.
Rib Lake, 60-18
The Falcons were swept in their season series with Rib Lake after falling in the second contest against their conference rivals on Friday. Abbotsford was outscored 35-5 over the course of the second half, leading to a lopsided 61-18 final.
A three from Nevaeh Treankler on the Falcons opening possession put them ahead and she broke a 3-3 tie by making a pair of free throws a few minutes later. Rib Lake went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, however, and it wasn’t until Marilyn Hammock hit a midrange jumper with eight minutes left in the contest that Abbotsford found themselves back on the scoreboard.
The home team continued to build out their lead, scoring the next seven points to go up 19-7. The Falcons played evenly with Rib Lake down the stretch, getting a pair of free throws from Treankler and two baskets from Celia Schindler, but still found themselves in a 25-13 hole at halftime.
Twenty-three unanswered points by Rib Lake to start the second period all but sealed the game. A free throw from Schindler finally gave the Falcons some second half points seven minutes into the period, but they would only collect four more for the rest of the contest. Most of those came on a threepoint shot from Campbell Brodhagen a few possessions later, but Treankler’s free throw with two minutes left was the only other score for the Falcons.
Treankler led the team with eight points, Schindler had five and Brodhagen finished with three. Hammock rounded out the scoring with two points.
Assumption, 71-18
Abbotsford went on the road to play the number one team in Division 5 last Thursday, taking on Assumption on their own court. The Royals proved why they are held in such high regard in the state, dealing the Falcons a 71-18 defeat.
Assumption’s full court press flummoxed the visiting Falcons all evening, the Royals doing what they do best by forcing Abbotsford into numerous turnovers. Over the first eight minutes, 14 of the Falcons first 16 possessions ended with a turnover. Though Assumption was not particularly efficient over this same time period, they still were able to open up an 18-0 lead.
Celia Schindler got the Falcons on the board after getting an open shot underneath the basket, but Assumption rattled off eight more points before Schindler added a second field goal a few minutes later. Three consecutive points for Marilyn Hammock made the score 26-7, but the Royals rounded out the half on a 16-3 run to take a dominating 42-10 lead into halftime.
Asia Atkinson got Abbotsford on the board first in the second period, scoring in the paint on their first possession of the half, but the Falcons still struggled to find much consistency on offense. It would be another six minutes before visitors would make another field goal, this time a layup from Azalea Atkinson, and they would not make another over the final 12 minutes of the game. A pair of free throws from Nevaeh Treankler and another courtesy of Hammock were Abbotsford’s only source of offense over that stretch.
Schindler had a team-high five points, Hammock and Azalea Atkinson both had
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four points each, Asia Atkinson and Treankler collected two points each and Campbell Brodhagen finished with one point.
Phillips, 59-30
The Falcons hosted the Phillips Loggers last Thursday evening and fell to their Marawood-North foes 59-30.
While neither team shot particularly well from the field, Abbotsford finishing with a shooting percentage of 18.8 percent and Phillips hitting 28.8 percent of their shots, the Loggers used a bevy of free throws, going 19-for-24 from the line, and 31 turnovers for the Falcons to nearly double up their hosts.
A three from Marilyn Hammock got the Falcons on the board first and a transition basket for the Abbotsford sophomore put the home team up 5-1. Momentum quickly shifted from Abbotsford, however, as Phillips went on to score the next 13 points of the contest. Riley Podevels hit a pair of free throws to get the Falcons back on the board, but they never led again.
Back-to-back fast break baskets for Asia Atkinson and Podevels brought the Falcons back within five points with seven minutes left in the first half, though they would not be able to close the gap any further. Despite this, Abbotsford kept themselves close over the rest of the half and went into the break down 24-16.
A strong start to the second half for the Loggers changed the game’s outlook. The Falcons failed to score over the first five minutes of the period, allowing Phillips to score 12 straight points and put Abbotsford into a significant deficit.
Atkinson ended the scoring drought for the home team, but the damage had already been done, as they still found themselves down 36-18. Campbell Brodhagen’s three two possessions later brought the Falcons slightly closer, but Abbotsford was unable to mount any sort of rally in the second period, being held to 14 points over the last 18 minutes of the contest.
Podevels led the team across the board statistically, putting up nine points, eight rebounds, two assists and four steals. Hammock finished with seven points and six rebounds, Brodhagen had five points and four rebounds, and Atkinson had four points, four rebounds and two steals. Azalea Atkinson had three points, six rebounds and two assists and Celia Schindler rounded out the scoring by putting up two points while also collecting eight rebounds.
