Announcement
Shelbyville answers coach's challenge to hold off Waldron
Posted by Ronald Williams on
Dec 19 2010
at
04:00PM PST
By Jeff Brown
Sports editor
After squandering a two-possession lead late in the fourth quarter at Waldron, Shelbyville coach Amanda Norris called timeout and issued a challenge to her team.
Play together, be smart and finish off the Lady Mohawks was the message.
Chelsey Skipton hit six straight free throws over the final 65 seconds to lift Shelbyville to a 55-51 victory. The win improved Shelbyville to 4-7 this season with three wins coming over Shelby County opponents.
"Waldron is a tough team," said Norris. "They have a stacked coaching staff that knows what they are talking about. They know the game of basketball and do a very good job of getting their team ready for every game.
"Their whole team is solid so this is a good win for us. It's a good motivational step especially with the Shelby Shootout coming up next. Last year we were on a downward spiral going into that so hopefully were on the way up right now."
The Lady Golden Bears got a big boost from the return of freshman guard Riley Achenbach, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 12 points. Achenbach missed the last five games after suffering a concussion on Nov. 26 at Pendleton Heights.
"Achenbach is a nice addition," said Norris. "We kept saying, 'Wait until we get Riley back.' She presents an offensive threat."
Mary Laird led Waldron (6-4) with 13 points, and Kylee Gibbs finished with 12 points and six rebounds. But the Lady Mohawks have struggled since its overtime win at Jac-Cen-Del on Dec. 7.
"We're going through a stretch right now where we don't have all five players on the floor into it," said Waldron coach Brad Gossett. "At any given time we have three people doing the bulk of the work and we have to get away from that. We're not playing team basketball.
"For the most part we did a lot better. We're still not up to our potential."
With Laird hitting three 3s in the first quarter, Shelbyville had to battle to keep from getting knocked out early. Waldron's seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter carried over for 2-1/2 minutes into the second before a 6-0 run sparked the Lady Golden Bears.
Waldron held off that charge and took a 32-27 lead into halftime. Gibbs scored in the low post to start the third quarter and the Lady Mohawks were again ahead by seven.
Eryn Hopper answered on the other end for Shelbyville which started a 10-0 run that included two 3s by Achenbach. The Lady Golden Bears never trailed again after its best eight-minute span of the season.
The game was tied six times over the final 12 minutes but Waldron couldn't regain control of the game.
A long jump shot from Hopper followed by a Raven Hibbard 3-pointer gave Shelbyville a 48-43 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Less than 90 seconds later, Gibbs hit a free throw and Brittany Elliott bombed a 3-pointer. And after another wasted Shelbyville possession that resulted in Elliott racing the other way and getting fouled at the basket, Norris put the hammer down on her team.
Elliott eventually missed both free throws while Skipton calmly sank six-in-a-row to secure a much-needed road win.
Skipton finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Hopper and Caitlin Mills each had eight points. Ashley Bush had six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Elliott scored eight points and dished out six assists for Waldron. Vanessa Higdon had seven points and seven rebounds. Callie Ramey added seven points off the bench.
Shelbyville's junior varsity squad ended a four-game losing streak with a 28-20 win over Waldron.
Allison Gobel and Taylor Pierce each had nine points for Shelbyville (6-4). Meghan Thornburg finished with seven points.
Shawna Jackson led Waldron (4-3) with seven points.
Play together, be smart and finish off the Lady Mohawks was the message.
Chelsey Skipton hit six straight free throws over the final 65 seconds to lift Shelbyville to a 55-51 victory. The win improved Shelbyville to 4-7 this season with three wins coming over Shelby County opponents.
"Waldron is a tough team," said Norris. "They have a stacked coaching staff that knows what they are talking about. They know the game of basketball and do a very good job of getting their team ready for every game.
The Lady Golden Bears got a big boost from the return of freshman guard Riley Achenbach, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 12 points. Achenbach missed the last five games after suffering a concussion on Nov. 26 at Pendleton Heights.
"Achenbach is a nice addition," said Norris. "We kept saying, 'Wait until we get Riley back.' She presents an offensive threat."
Mary Laird led Waldron (6-4) with 13 points, and Kylee Gibbs finished with 12 points and six rebounds. But the Lady Mohawks have struggled since its overtime win at Jac-Cen-Del on Dec. 7.
"We're going through a stretch right now where we don't have all five players on the floor into it," said Waldron coach Brad Gossett. "At any given time we have three people doing the bulk of the work and we have to get away from that. We're not playing team basketball.
"For the most part we did a lot better. We're still not up to our potential."
With Laird hitting three 3s in the first quarter, Shelbyville had to battle to keep from getting knocked out early. Waldron's seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter carried over for 2-1/2 minutes into the second before a 6-0 run sparked the Lady Golden Bears.
Waldron held off that charge and took a 32-27 lead into halftime. Gibbs scored in the low post to start the third quarter and the Lady Mohawks were again ahead by seven.
Eryn Hopper answered on the other end for Shelbyville which started a 10-0 run that included two 3s by Achenbach. The Lady Golden Bears never trailed again after its best eight-minute span of the season.
The game was tied six times over the final 12 minutes but Waldron couldn't regain control of the game.
A long jump shot from Hopper followed by a Raven Hibbard 3-pointer gave Shelbyville a 48-43 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Less than 90 seconds later, Gibbs hit a free throw and Brittany Elliott bombed a 3-pointer. And after another wasted Shelbyville possession that resulted in Elliott racing the other way and getting fouled at the basket, Norris put the hammer down on her team.
Elliott eventually missed both free throws while Skipton calmly sank six-in-a-row to secure a much-needed road win.
Skipton finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Hopper and Caitlin Mills each had eight points. Ashley Bush had six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Elliott scored eight points and dished out six assists for Waldron. Vanessa Higdon had seven points and seven rebounds. Callie Ramey added seven points off the bench.
Shelbyville's junior varsity squad ended a four-game losing streak with a 28-20 win over Waldron.
Allison Gobel and Taylor Pierce each had nine points for Shelbyville (6-4). Meghan Thornburg finished with seven points.
Shawna Jackson led Waldron (4-3) with seven points.
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