Falcon girls sail past O-W, 48-29

The Falcons hosted Owen-Withee Monday evening and used a strong push at the end of the first half to cruise past the Blackhawks 48-29.

While the visitors held even through the early and late portions of the game, Abbotsford’s dominance through the middle section proved to be the deciding factor. In a relatively low scoring contest, the Falcons were unable to pull away from their Cloverbelt-East foes in the opening minutes. While Abbotsford took a 9-4 lead after Adriana Fuentes-Rivera hit a three, they could not quite shake the Blackhawks, who seemed to answer every Falcons basket with one of their own.

A turnaround jumper in the lane from Briseida Escalera gave the Falcons a 2014 lead with under six minutes to play in the half, the home team’s largest lead of the game. This time, Owen-Withee did not have an immediate retort and Abbotsford took advantage. The Falcons went on a 10-2 run to end the half, Sommer Brodhagen capping off the effort with a basket as time expired to give her team a 28-16 lead heading into halftime.

Abbotsford continued to apply the pressure on both sides of the ball in the beginning of the second period. The Falcons opened the half scoring 10 points to Owen-Withee’s two. Combined with the end of the first half, Abbotsford had outscored the Blackhawks 20-4 over an eleven minute span, turning what had once been a competitive affair into a blowout.

Owen-Withee managed to bring the game within 13 after a made free throw with under five minutes left in the game, but the Falcons held their ground and walked away with the 48-29 victory.

Abbotsford took advantage of the Blackhawk’s looseness with the ball, converting 28 Owen-Withee turnovers into 19 points. Meanwhile, the Falcons only turned the ball over 14 times, leading to just eight points for the visitors. Their solid defensive play resulted in no Blackhawk player ending the game in double figures scoring.

Escalera led the team with 14 points, connecting on three of her eight field goal attempts from beyond the three-point arc. She also had the most steals for the Falcons with three and co-led the team in assists and blocks, of which she had three and two respectively.

Brodhagen finished the evening with 12 points, going 4-5 from the free throw line. She also led Abbotsford with seven rebounds. Sydney Falteisek had a good allaround effort for the Falcons, delivering 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists for the home team. She also had two steals and two blocks.

Fuentes-Rivera ended the game with five points on 2-4 shooting, Calley Ruesch had three points, Brissa Diaz had two points and five rebounds, and Azul Diaz had two points.

The Falcons are now 9-2 and will host Stratford this Friday, Jan. 6. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.