Arcanum Girls Outlast Dixie

The Arcanum Trojans were a bit rusty coming into Saturday nights game.  Due to scheduling and cancellations the team hadn’t played in about 3 weeks.  While the Trojans were struggling to get the rust off, Dixie raced out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.  Although Arcanum came back, Dixie still had the lead at the end of the first quarter. Arcanum hit their stride in the second quarter and got the lead which they held onto for the rest of the game.  Dixie made a heroic effort in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter, but would finally fall. 

Arcanum had a taller team, but Dixie was trying to out-quick the Trojans by running the floor in the early going.  The game was also a bit of a chess match as both teams switched offenses and defensive schemes throughout the game to try and get the upper hand on their opponent.  Arcanum used a 2-3 zone, 1-3-1 trapping zone, and man to man.  Then they used a single post offense and swung the ball on the perimeter to get 3 point shots when Dixie tried to take away the inside game.  And when Dixie countered the outside game they went to a two post offense and pushed the ball inside.

Arcanum opened a lead hitting outside shots including 3-3 pointers – in the second quarter.  That broke the game open and Dixie had to chase Arcanum the rest of the way.   And when Dixie was fouling in the last quarter to get back into the game, Arcanum was a solid 10 of 13 from the line.  Dixie was pressing hard with 5 minutes left – down 37-30.  At the 3 minute mark Arcanum went into keep away mode.  And the last minutes seemed to take forever.  Dixie never got closer than 5 points though, finally losing 46-40.

Scoring for Arcanum: Zell  2, Abner 17, Johnting 10, Sharritts 2, Kinney 5, O’Daniel 2, Deao 9. Dixie: Wylie 14, Shell 5, Leis 9, Honeywell 5, Berkte 7.

“The last 3 minutes it seemed like the time was not even ticking, “ remarked Arcanum’s coach Fearon, “We have not played for 3 weeks, and we were a little nervous coming out.  We are trying to get game legs back under us and getting back to the way we were.  After the first quarter, we settled down and started to play our game.  It took that first quarter to just get us back into the swing of things.”

Alexis Abner, “I thought that she had a really good game for us tonight.  She took charge, she took care of the basketball and did exactly what I asked her tonight. She’s been in a little bit of a rut and I think that tonight will boost her confidence.  But from a leadership standpoint, this was one of better games this year, more than the points - that is what I am looking for.” ValleyView(state ranked): “They are next up for us – I know that they are quick and we will need to match up speed wise.  It will be a test for us.”

Coach Crowe commented after the game, “We’ve played a tough 11 game schedule to start the season.  And even though we lost, I am excited about the energy and effort that we showed.  I am eager for the rest of the season, we made some strides tonight and I think that we can carry them over.  Arcanum is a team that we could see in our sectional, so that is the caliber of team we will play against.  I’m excited about the direction that we are going.  Last year we seemed to rely on one player.  Now this year they are seeing that they can play together and when they do – it is nice.”

Amara Wylie: “She’s the kind of kid that gives everything.  She listens well, she is a coach’s dream – a great kid to coach.  Sometimes she can be too unselfish, but tonight she did a good job of taking the ball to the basket.  She helped to keep us in the game. “