Girls Basketball: A TALE OF TWO HALVES
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
The Greene County girls basketball team has yet to put a complete game together, and it shows in the box score. The Rams dropped a 52-36 decision at the hands of Ogden in their home opener Monday, a game in which they trailed by just five at the half and fell 40-24 to CMB the following night, a contest that was tied at 14 at the half time break.
The pair of losses leave Greene County still in search of their first win, as they move to 0-3 on the year.
OGDEN’S HOT SHOOTING DOWNS GC
An early third quarter spurt from Ogden, which included a pair of three-pointers, allowed the Bulldogs to stretch a five point halftime lead into a 12-point advantage just 90 seconds into the second half, securing Ogden the eventual 52-36 win Monday, Nov. 28 in Jefferson.
The Bulldogs led 21-16 at half and outscored the Rams 22-11 in the third period, giving the visitors just enough to outlast Greene County for the 16-point win. The third quarter was a perfect storm of sorts, Greene County head coach Dean Lyons said. A hot-shooting opponent coupled with several botched layups doomed the Rams.
“We came out in the third and I don’t think (Ogden) missed more than three or four shots that whole quarter,” Lyons said. “They just lit it up and were on fire.”
Ram senior Kenna Marquardt led the way Monday with 15 points and five rebounds while junior Laurin Lyons added seven points to go with five rebounds and two assists.
The Bulldogs lurched out to a seven-point advantage after the opening quarter, holding the Ram offense to just six points as both teams struggled with turnovers. The Greene County ball handlers were whistled for several possession-killing travels as well. It was a case of nerves playing in front of their home crowd for the first time, Lyons said.
“(I told them) to just calm down. We were a little nervous and we are still young, even though we have a year of experience,” the coach said. “I wanted them to calm down and relax, the shots (would) be there. The defense was going to keep us in the game. They settled down and played a pretty decent first half.
The Rams took their coach’s words to heart as the Greene County defense stood tall in the second quarter, holding Ogden to just eight points, closing to 19-15 late in the second quarter thanks to a string of Marquardt buckets. The Ram defense stiffened even more, holding the Bulldogs to just two points over the final four minutes of the second quarter and found themselves trailing 21-16 at the break.
“Our defense picked it up a bit and then we got some confidence on the offensive end,” Lyons said. The defense got us back in the game.”
The third quarter proved to be the most critical frame as Ogden ripped off a quick 7-0 run to take a 28-16 lead just moments into the second half. The run ballooned to 14-2 as Ogden took their largest lead of the game at 35-18.
The Bulldogs exploded for 22 points in all in the third quarter thanks to consecutive three-pointers in the closing moments of the period for a 43-27 lead. The double-digit deficit was just too much to overcome as the Rams mustered just nine points in the fourth quarter, falling as far behind as 19 at one point. But, the Rams never let the deficit get too far out of hand, and it was something coach Lyons was proud of.
“I have to give credit to my girls, they easily could’ve given up and lost by 30 or 40, but they kept battling back,” the coach said. “It’s a learning process with these girls. I told them if they keep working hard it will pay off.”
Senior Taylor Wessling contributed a team-high three steals to go with four made free throws and two rebounds. Hannah Promes also pulled down five rebounds to aid her four point effort.
PHYSICAL CMB DEFENSE OUTLASTS RAMS
The hometown Collins-Maxwell/Baxter Raiders were able to pull away from a 14-14 halftime tie Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Baxter, defeating Greene County, 40-24.
The girls once again struggled to find scoring over the final 16 minutes, as the Rams put up just four points in the third quarter against a physical CMB defense.
Senior Laurin Lyons was removed from the contest late in the game due to a concussion. She was the Rams’ leading scorer on the night, pouring in nine points, but won’t be back in the lineup until Tuesday, Dec. 6, coach Lyons said.
Greene County jumped out to a 12-8 lead after the opening eight minutes, but mustered just two points in the second quarter as the Rams struggled to get shots to fall. CMB limped through the second frame as well and the two teams entered halftime tied at 14-all.
Scoring picked up in the third quarter as the Raiders burst out of the locker room with 12 points while GC continued its struggles from the first half, scoring just five points. CMB entered the final quarter with a 29-19 advantage, one they would never relinquish. The Raiders ran off 11 points over the final eight minutes to secure their first conference victory of the year.
The Rams struggled with the CMB defense and could never find their footing offensively.
“The game was very rough, very physical. We had great shots, we just couldn’t make them,” Lyons said. “The first quarter, we came out on fire, we played really well. In the second half, we couldn’t buy a bucket. We took good shots, just couldn’t make them.”
Marquardt added seven points and was the only other Ram to score more than two points. The senior pulled down a team-high six rebounds, which tied her with Onica Delp in addition to two steals. Lyons curtailed five rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. Promes filled the stat sheet with three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Rams have failed to stay with their opponents in the second half in all three games this season. The girls have been outscored by a combined 56 points in 48 minutes of second half action.
“I think we need to come out in the third (quarter) with a little more intensity,” Lyons said. “If we can lock that intensity down, we can come out alright. We just have to put a whole game together. We are getting closer but we are not there just yet.”
Greene County is on the road again Friday as they take on North Polk (2-2) in Alleman.
The Comets were 14-8 a year ago. Riley Murphy was fourth in the conference as a junior with 63 steals. North Polk has opened the 2016-17 season 2-2 with wins over South Hamilton and Bondurant-Farrar. Their losses came in the season-opener against Carlisle, 63-60 and 11th-ranked (4A) Nevada, 47-27.
The Comets favor a balanced scoring attack as Katie Brown (10 PPG) and Rachel Scott (9.8 PPG) are the top two options.
“They are a very good team,” Lyons said. “Probably one of the top three teams in the conference. They will press on defense. It’ll be tough. We will have to handle the ball.”
Roland-Story visits Jefferson Tuesday for the Rams’ HOIC home-opener. The Norse were 11-12 a season ago and were 9-7 in conference. Leading scorer Jenna Clark returns, having averaged 11.4 points per game and sank 50 three-pointers, which were third most in the HOIC.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. inside the Greene County middle school gym.
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