Announcement
Scoring droughts prove costly to Golden Bears
Posted by Ronald Williams on
Jan 15 2014
at
04:00PM PST
Campbell, Niehoff lead Class 3A, No. 5 Rushville past Shelbyville
By Ross Flint
Staff writer
A couple scoring droughts turned a competitive game in the first quarter into a 53-35 loss for the Shelbyville girls’ basketball team against Rushville.
The Golden Bears (5-10) led twice in the first quarter, the latest being on a field goal by senior Taylor Pierce with 2:15 left, butcouldn’t buy a bucket to start both the second and third quarters. They were held scoreless for the first four minutes, 40 seconds of the second quarter as the Class 3A, No. 5-ranked Lions (11-3) went on an 8-0 run for a 22-12 lead.
“Basketball is a funny game sometimes,” said Shelbyville coach Scott Larrabee. “We got some good looks. They didn’t fall. Against a good team like Rushville, you’ve got to make shots from the perimeter. Their length, strength and size really force you to shoot perimeter shots. Obviously, we didn’t make enough tonight.”
The drought ended when freshman Cora Reinhart entered the game and made a shot with 3:20 left, then added a pair of free throws 18 seconds later to cut Shelbyville’s deficit to six, 22-16.
The Golden Bears got to within five on a free throw by freshman Alexis Tackett and again on a field goal by Pierce. By halftime, Shelbyville was down a manageable seven points, 28-21.
But another drought, this one lasting 6:20, allowed the Lions to start the second half on a 14-0 run for a commanding 42-21 lead.
“I was really proud of our girls in terms of their effort, in terms of their toughness, and their will not to quit,” Larrabee said.
Rushville’s size also was a factor. The Lions used that advantage to get second-chance points throughout the night, and outrebounded Shelbyville 38-26.
“They’re a big, strong physical team,” Larrabee said. “We got some foul trouble early in the first half that took away some of our size. They took advantage of that.”
One area Larrabee was particularly proud of his team was pulling Rushville out of its 1-2-2 defense.
“To do that against a quality team like them says a lot about our improvements as we progress throughout this season,” he said. “This is another stepping stone for us to try to get better.”
Pierce tied the game at four with 6:09 remaining in the first quarter and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
Rushville took the lead again on a spin move by Keragan Niehoff, who shared top scoring honors with Mackenzie Campbell (21 points apiece).
Senior Allyson Conner gave Shelbyville its first lead with 5:04 left on a 3-pointer and sophomore Cassady Skipton’s layup made it 9-6 with 4:22 left.
But Campbell’s putback and free throw tied the game up with 3:28 left in the first, and freshman Kaitlyn Howe made a free throw to give the Lions the lead.
“I thought we pushed and got some easy buckets in transition,” Larrabee said of the first quarter. “It was one of our better rebounding quarters, and that allowed us to create transition buckets. They’ve got a very good program. There’s a reason why they played in the semistate last year.”
Pierce and Tackett each scored 10 points to lead Shelbyville, who return to action Saturday at Hoosier Heritage Conference leader Mount Vernon (10-3, 3-0 HHC).
The Golden Bears (5-10) led twice in the first quarter, the latest being on a field goal by senior Taylor Pierce with 2:15 left, butcouldn’t buy a bucket to start both the second and third quarters. They were held scoreless for the first four minutes, 40 seconds of the second quarter as the Class 3A, No. 5-ranked Lions (11-3) went on an 8-0 run for a 22-12 lead.
“Basketball is a funny game sometimes,” said Shelbyville coach Scott Larrabee. “We got some good looks. They didn’t fall. Against a good team like Rushville, you’ve got to make shots from the perimeter. Their length, strength and size really force you to shoot perimeter shots. Obviously, we didn’t make enough tonight.”
The drought ended when freshman Cora Reinhart entered the game and made a shot with 3:20 left, then added a pair of free throws 18 seconds later to cut Shelbyville’s deficit to six, 22-16.
But another drought, this one lasting 6:20, allowed the Lions to start the second half on a 14-0 run for a commanding 42-21 lead.
“I was really proud of our girls in terms of their effort, in terms of their toughness, and their will not to quit,” Larrabee said.
Rushville’s size also was a factor. The Lions used that advantage to get second-chance points throughout the night, and outrebounded Shelbyville 38-26.
“They’re a big, strong physical team,” Larrabee said. “We got some foul trouble early in the first half that took away some of our size. They took advantage of that.”
One area Larrabee was particularly proud of his team was pulling Rushville out of its 1-2-2 defense.
“To do that against a quality team like them says a lot about our improvements as we progress throughout this season,” he said. “This is another stepping stone for us to try to get better.”
Pierce tied the game at four with 6:09 remaining in the first quarter and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
Rushville took the lead again on a spin move by Keragan Niehoff, who shared top scoring honors with Mackenzie Campbell (21 points apiece).
Senior Allyson Conner gave Shelbyville its first lead with 5:04 left on a 3-pointer and sophomore Cassady Skipton’s layup made it 9-6 with 4:22 left.
But Campbell’s putback and free throw tied the game up with 3:28 left in the first, and freshman Kaitlyn Howe made a free throw to give the Lions the lead.
“I thought we pushed and got some easy buckets in transition,” Larrabee said of the first quarter. “It was one of our better rebounding quarters, and that allowed us to create transition buckets. They’ve got a very good program. There’s a reason why they played in the semistate last year.”
Pierce and Tackett each scored 10 points to lead Shelbyville, who return to action Saturday at Hoosier Heritage Conference leader Mount Vernon (10-3, 3-0 HHC).
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