Outside The County-Maconaquah
Results from Maconaquah for Saturday, December 2nd
Defense win the “Cookie Cup” 58-22
The Lady Braves traveled to Eastern for the annual “Cookie Cup” game. The Lady Braves played well defensively the whole game , but it was the 2nd quarter with their defense and hot shooting that really opened the game up. THe Lady Braves outscored Eastern 24-7 in the quarter with their pressure defense and their willingness to find the next player. They had 6 different players score in that quarter.
The Lady Braves were led by Bailey Carson with 17 points and Miranda Stoll had 15 points. Ireland Kile and Addie Maiben came off the bench and had 6 points, Sydney Barnes and Aubrey Stoll had 5 points. The dynamic duo of Shaelyn Powell and Aubrey Kaiser held Eastern’s leading scorer to 4 points on the day. Others, Hallie Maiben, Delaney Betzner, Averie Maiben and Chloe Smyth all played really well on defense and found their teammates open with some really good passes.
The Lady Braves now move to 3-4 on the season with a trip to Oak Hill (sectional team) on Tuesday, December 5th.
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Boys Varsity Basketball beats North Miami 79 – 37
The Braves opened TRC play with a win over North Miami. The win puts the Braves at 2-0 on the early season.
Coach Burrus Quotes: “This North Miami game showed the way our group is playing at this point. We had a big night running the floor and sharing the basketball. AJ Kelly had a very productive night scoring in transition. Josiah Ball led us in steals (8). Fuddy Kile made a lot of plays on both ends. Ethan Zeiser had another all-around great game. He has really anchored our defense. Kaden Miller has really been good at the front of our defense. He puts constant pressure on the ball. He has a thankless job up there but has done well. Our bench was able to do a good job in this game. Oakley Reeser gave us good minutes off the bench. Braxton Birner also played well. Everybody hustled and played to win. We also got our jv guys some quality minutes at the varsity level. We play Wabash, at Wabash this Friday. Then, we come home to play Oak Hill on Saturday night at home.
We watched Oak Hill play Norwell on Saturday afternoon. OH had a double digit lead with 4 or 5 minutes left. Norwell came back and won in double overtime. I have been on both ends of these games. Keeping a lead is not always easy. Every coach has a point where we don’t want to shoot any more 3’s. Think of a 3 point shot going up with a 6 point lead with 3 minutes left. However, the other team is encouraged to shoot some 3’s. That can shrink the lead fast, hitting some 3’s. Another, is forcing turnovers. Also, getting no free throws, or easy baskets. Another lead killer is giving the other team free throws that is behind. The clock is stopped and you can set up your press. Missing free throws down the strtch is a killer as well. The number I look for is a 7 point lead. That means WE have to have 3 straight dry posessions and the opponent needs to score 3 straight times to get the lead. Sometimes, at the end of games you will have a player or team that just refuses to lose. I had a team down 49-40 with 45 seconds left. I had a player hit 3 straight 3’s. He then got a steal and hit the game winner to win 51-49. His name was Spencer Krhin. It is on youtube. My point is… these games can happen. We have to protect leads. We also can’t quit when we are behind. The game is not over! So if you see me freak out when somebody shoots a 3 with a small lead late in the 4th quarter, now you know why. To finish the game you have to: 1. Take care of the ball. 2. Make free throws, or easy baskets. 3. Lock up the other team. 4. Get out on the 3 point line and contest every shot. 5. We can’t foul if in the bonus, or on a shot. No fouls. See you Friday, at Wabash.
Ball 24pts 4reb 2ast 8st 1bl
Kelly 21pts 1reb 4ast 4st
Zeiser 10pts 5reb 3ast 2st
Kile 10pts 4reb 5st 2bl 3ast
Miller 2pts 1st 1ast 1bl
Reeser 2pts 3reb
Birner 2pts
Adams 4pts 1reb 1st
Richards 2pts 1st 1ast
Rader 2pts 1st 2reb
Richie 1reb
Murry 1ast 1reb
