Falcons can’t keep pace with Phillips, O-W
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford girls basketball team fell to 1-9 this season after a pair of losses to Owen-Withee and Phillips over the past week.
Owen-Withee, 46-23
The visiting Owen-Withee Blackhawks got the upper hand in a defensive affair on Monday night in Abbotsford. The Falcons struggled to find much room to operate against a tough Owen-Withee squad and the Blackhawks used a strong run at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to pull away, eventually dealing their hosts a 46-23 defeat.
It was a tough shooting day from the field for Abbotsford. They were held to just three baskets all evening, shooting 9.4 percent on 36 shot attempts. While the Falcons caused Owen-Withee to struggle at times on offense as well, the Blackhawks still ended up shooting 32.0 percent.
What kept Abbotsford in the game was their free throw shooting. The Falcons managed to get to the free throw line 22 times over the course of the game and made 16 of those attempts, accounting for 69.5 percent of their points.
The first six minutes of the game was the defensive grind that both teams were likely looking for. The Blackhawks held a small 3-1 advantage, which they were then able to maneu-ver into a 10-1 lead after a quick scoring spurt. Abbotsford locked back in on defense and Marilyn Hammock got the Falcons first field goal of the game as a quick answer for the Falcons. Hammock then went two-for-two from the free throw line on the next possession and Celia Schindler added a pair of free throws as well to bring the Falcons back within a possession. A three from the Blackhawks halted the Abbotsford rally, but they kept things from getting out of hand for most of the first half. Two more free throws from Hammock and a transition basket from the sophomore had the Falcons within four with just two-and-a-half minutes left to play in the first period.
However, the shots finally started falling for Owen-Withee at the end of the half, as they went on a 9-0 run to close out the period. That run continued into the second half, where the Blackhawks scored the first 12 points. The 21 straight points for the visitors turned what had once been a close, defensive battle in the first half into a 36-11 lead for Owen-Withee. A free throw from Azalea Atkinson got Abbotsford on the board in the second half, but with only 10 minutes left and now looking at a 24-point deficit, a comeback would be difficult. While Abbotsford held the Blackhawks to just 10 points the rest of the way while scoring 11 points of their own, it was not enough to clear the gap between the two squads.
Hammock led the team with 10 points, hitting two of the team's three field goals and going 6-for-7 from the free throw line. She also secured a team-high six rebounds. Azul Diaz had four points, five rebounds and three steals, Lauryn Harris added a three at the end of the game, and Schindler and Atkinson had two points each. Jackie Soto and Riley Podevels also scored, both recording one free throw make.
Phillips, 65-39
The Falcons traveled to Phillips last Thursday for a matchup with their conference rivals. The Loggers used a strong end to the first half to pull away from Abbotsford and were able to maintain that lead through the second half to down the visiting Falcons 65-39.
In a game that featured 61 combined turnovers, the Loggers were better able to take advantage of the extra possessions, scoring 34 points following a Falcon giveaway, compared to just 14 points for Abbotsford off of turnovers. While the visitors shot slightly better from the free throw line, making eight of their 17 attempts compared to Phillips going 8for-19 from the line, the Loggers were more accurate from
See ABBY GIRLS BASKETBALL / Page 16
DRIVING TO THE BASKET - Azalea Atkinson makes a break toward th e hoop as she dribbles around her Blackhawk defender during the Falcons home game against Owen-Withee on Monday night.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SECOND-CHANCE POINTS - After grabbing an offensive rebound, Marilyn Hammock puts it back up for two of her ten points against Owen-Withee.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Abby girls basketball
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the field, making 39.1 percent of their shots compared to 30.0 percent for the Falcons.
The two squads battled back and forth over the first quarter of the contest, with Abbotsford coming out on top of the exchange. Phillips jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but the Falcons answered with a strong scoring sequence of their own.
Azul Diaz scored on a fast break and then nailed a threepointer on Abbotsford’s next possession to knot the game up. The senior guard then produced a steal and pushed the ball down the court, scoring another transition basket and putting the Falcons ahead. After a made free throw for Phillips, Asia Atkinson kept the visitors’ production going with a short range jumper that capped a 9-1 run for Abbotsford and gave them an 11-8 advantage.
Turnovers started to pile up for the Falcons over the next seven minutes of game time. Twelve giveaways plus six missed field goal attempts by Abbotsford over that span allowed the Loggers to score 18 straight points. A free throw from Azalea Atkinson ended the Falcons scoring drought, but Phillips still held a 14-point lead.
A layup and subsequent free throw from Celia Schindler a few possessions later cut that lead down to 13, but the Falcons would not get any closer for the rest of the evening. The home team led by as many as 21 points in the first half and held a 38-22 advantage heading into the second.
The defenses limited each other in the second period, something that worked in favor of the home team. The Loggers were able to maintain their double-digit lead for the entirety of the period and a 14-2 run in the middle of the period for Phillips made a comeback for Abbotsford all but impossible.
The Falcons played evenly with their hosts the rest of the way, scoring 10 points over the final seven minutes, but were unable to put a dent in the vast Loggers’ advantage.
“Both of these games were virtually a mirror image of each other as our girls were able to play evenly with our opponents for almost a half,” head coach Larry Lecheler said of the two contests the Falcons played over the last week. “Unfortunately, our nemesis of turning the ball over as often as we do deprives us of shots at the basket resulting in our low offensive scores. On the plus side, we have been doing a little better job defensively when it comes to our help defense and boxing out and rebounding. As a team, we will continue to work on improving in all areas.”
Azalea Atkinson finished as the Falcons’top scorer, putting up 10 points in the loss. She also had seven rebounds and four deflections. Diaz added seven points, making all three of her field goal attempts while bringing down six rebounds and collecting three steals.
Marilyn Hammock and Campbell Brodhagen both had six points each, with Hammock also gathering a team-high eight rebounds and adding three steals. Schindler ended the game with five points, three blocks and five rebounds, Asia Atkinson and Paola Tzintzun both had two points and Nevaeh Treankler had one point and four steals.
ATTACKING THE BASELINE - Riley Podevels tries to find room to operate against a stout Blackhawks defense. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
