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Friday, 29 December 2006 |
‘Riders slip by Kalida
By B.J. BETHEL
Sports Editor
ST. MARYS — Despite trailing for most of the game, the St. Marys girls basketball team fought off a late Kalida run in the fourth quarter to win 35-33 Thursday.
St. Marys led 28-25 with three minutes to go when Kalida went on a 8-0 run. Stephanie Platt hit two free throws to pull St. Marys within three points. Lea Mackenbach responded with a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the game. St. Marys took the lead when Emily Shellabarger fought off two Kalida defenders to score under the basket with 25 seconds remaining. After Kalida’s run, the Roughrider defense held Kalida scoreless the rest of the game.
St. Marys trailed most of the game but led at the end, when it mattered most.
“Yeah, we wanted to practice coming back from behind,” St. Marys coach Tim Niekamp said jokingly. “I just talked to the kids; sometimes you need to learn from a game like that.”
The game was a gutty effort for St. Marys, who won its second game in a row after defeating Coldwater last week.
“Down the stretch, we made the plays we needed to make,” Niekamp said. “We created some turnovers defensively and it gave us the edge at the end.”
The game was a defensive effort from the beginning, with Kalida trapping in the half court and St. Marys using its usual man-to-man and zone sets. St. Marys shot 75-percent from the field in the first half, but could only get off 12 shots. Kalida shot 6-of-14 and couldn’t convert on the free throw line, shooting 6-of-14. St. Marys had 10 fouls in the first half with four starters picking up at least two.
“That was the first time all year we had foul trouble like that,” Niekamp said. “We made some dumb fouls and the kids would be the first to admit that.”
Trying to get the ball into the post was a challenge for St. Marys.
“Kayla Thornsberry gave us a lift in the first half and that was about all we got out of the post for a while,” Niekamp said. “I don’t think it was from a lack of effort. Emily came through in the end with the game-winner.”
St. Marys took an early lead in the fourth quarter before Kalida rallied. Niekamp was happy to see his team be resilient.
“You use a lot of energy to take the lead again and it’s human nature to relax,” Niekamp said. “That’s what our kids did. We took a time out and we had to climb back up the hill again. They climbed the hill a second time and that’s not an easy thing to do. That’s a real positive to take away from this game.”
Lea Mackenbach led St. Marys with 13 points. She had three 3-pointers during the game, all of which came at important times during the game.
“They were all at critical junctures of the game,” Niekamp said. “You like to see someone step up like that. It’s a positive.”
St. Marys is now 3-5 this season and 0-3 in the Western Buckeye League. The Roughriders play Wapakoneta at home Thursday.
ST. MARYS 35
KALIDA 33
1 2 3 4 F
SM 8 11 5 11 35
K 11 8 6 8 33
ST. MARYS 35
Mackenbach 5-0-13, Platt 1-6-8, Shellabarger 2-2-6, Steva 2-0-4, Thornsberry 2-0-4. Totals: 12-8-35.
KALIDA 33
Heitmeyer 4-1-9, Verhoff 1-4-7, Remlinger 2-0-4, eindel 0-4-4, Hamburg 2-0-4, Frey 0-2-2. Totals: 10-11-33.
3-point goals: SM 3 (Mackenbach 3), K 2.
Rebounds: SM 26 (Platt 6), K 15 (Verhoff 5).
Team fouls: SM 18, K 13.
Fouled out: None.
Technical fouls: None.
Halftime: 19-19.
3rd quarter: K 25-24.
J.V. score: SM 28-25.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 January 2007 )
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