TVS tip off - CCC vs SWBL

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It was ladies first as South hosted their CCC/SWBL tip off this past weekend.  The format was for the two CCC teams to play against both of the SWBL teams.   Night one saw South play Northridge and North play Carlisle.   And opening night was all SWBL as both CCC teams had good first halves in their games only to falter in the second half.  North got some redemption as they beat Northridge on day two, while a young South team struggled to score in the second half of both of their games.

North was up at halftime in their first game against Carlisle 19-14. Senior Jackie Marshal would pace scoring for North with a game high 17 points. But Carlisle’s defense was too high a mountain to climb in the second half as Carlisle slowed down North’s scoring pace and gradually pulled ahead for a 38-32 victory.

On Saturday night, it was clear that Northridge defense was focused on Marshal.  She scored, but not as much as the first night.  Fellow senior point guard, Carly Whitaker, helped make up the difference with a 18 point scoring night. Northridge did hang tough with the Panthers for 3 quarters.  They played mainly zone in the first half and North did try to press the Polar Bears.  This was semi-effective as they did snag some turnovers, but they also gave up a few easy baskets and finally gave up the press and settled into a man to man defense.  

North changed their strategy in the second half.  Their defense was switched to man to man. They began to hit midrange and perimeter shots.  This pulled Northridge out of their zone and into man to man.  Now North was able to cut and open up their offense.   They had a slim three point lead entering the last quarter, but hit the gas pedal down the stretch and won easily 50-38.

This year North is coached by Todd Hutchinson.  He had some comments after the game, “I thought we played really hard, we regrouped from last night.  Tonight we came out fired up, the girls did a good job on defense and rebounding the ball.  In the last quarter, I told the girls how to handle their quicker girls so that they couldn’t drive to the basket.  That made them throw up some outside shots and we out rebounded them.”  On Carly Whitaker, “She did a good job of controlling the game, controlling the tempo.  Getting the girls in the game and in the right spots.  Last night she didn’t score much, but tonight she made some key baskets.”

South is in a rebuilding mode this year with single senior  - Kacy Bolton, and just two juniors  - Abby Horton and Raven Cline.  The balance of the roster is sophomores and freshman, so this year’s campaign will be lead mainly by underclassmen.  And an already thin lineup may be just that much leaner with an injury to sophomore Sarah Bingham on opening night.  The team will be waiting for a medical update this next week.

South stayed within striking distance up to half time in their game against Northridge – down by 7 points at the break.  But a tough 3^rd quarter where the team only netted one bucket while Northridge scored 15 made the difference.   South did outscore the Polar Bears in the last quarter, but it was not enough as they fell 45-28.

The game against Carlisle had a similar pattern.  The two teams played cautiously in the first quarter with Carlisle finally going on a 6-0 run to get the scoring started.  But South answered back and finally lead 12-11 in the second quarter.   Carlisle took a time out and went to work.  Using their height and quickness they battled back to close out the half with a 19-13 advantage.  The Indians were able to get a lot of second chance shots with their height advantage.

Carlisle played a more vigorous defense in the second half and got turnovers which they quickly converted into points.  They held South to just 10 second half points and won 47-23.  Coach Mabry had this to say after the game, “We got down early and I took a timeout to settle them down.  And they responded by making a run of their own.  We got back in the game and hung with them.  They made a run at the end of the second quarter and I told the girls at halftime that this is a game of runs and we have to make a run now.”  

He continued, “Two things happened in the second half, we got some open shots, but we couldn’t knock those shots down.  They also got more physical.  This team is young and inexperienced, plus we give up a lot of size and we just got knocked around a little.” He was asked about Hailey Keener, top scorer in both of South’s games, “She works hard, she may not be blessed with height or the best ball handling skills – but she will give you all that she has and will push to get better. “

Next week it is the boy’s turn.  TVS will again be hosting a tournament.  The boys games will feature Stivers, Dixie, Eaton, and of course TVS.  Preliminaries will be in the evening on Friday at 6pm and 7:30.  The consolation game and the championship will be Saturday at 6pm and 7:30pm.