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Sam Kuhna ’13 & Harrison Krasner ’14 | Staff Writer’s
To complete the sweep of the season series, the Lady Blue Devils cruised past North by a final score of 54-34 on Tuesday, Feb.12.
The Lady Blue Devils started the game on an incredible 13-0 run and never looked back from there. A three pointer was the lone basket that the Norsemen could squander in the first quarter, as the girls entered the second quarter with a 14-3 lead.
“The key was not letting them play at their pace,” said assistant coach Bruce Pelto. “They like to take time off the clock and we pressured them instead of letting them run around.”
However, the second quarter was quite different. They were outscored by the Norsemen 18-16 in the second because of North’s ability to penetrate and kick to the open three point shooter. The intensity and momentum swung to North as they were able to cut the lead to single digits at the half.
“We needed to be more aggressive on defene in the second quarter,” said Katie Kish ’15. “Coach Richards is really tough on our defense and the work we’ve put in shows on the court.”
The third quarter was a great defensive showing by both teams. The teams were only able to scrape together a combined 16 points for the quarter, with ten being scored by the Lady Blue Devils.
“We really didn’t change much at half,” said Pelto. “Coach (Richards) really just challenges the kids.”
In the final quarter of the rivalry game, the pace was slowed down and the game got sloppy with turnover after turnover on both ends. Both Bre’nae Andrews ’15 and Natalia Engel ’16 knocked down big threes, in an orderly fourth quarter. Seven players scored for the Lady Blue Devils, with all but eight points coming from starters.
Again the bulk of the scoring came from guard Cierra Rice ’15 (16 points) and forward Claire DeBoer ‘13 (14 points), with much of these points being scored in the paint and at the free throw line.
The biggest game of the season is always seen as the next one in the eyes of a coach, but the ladies next game may truly be their biggest one. A chance to clinch the MAC Red title in their first season is a possibility with a win against Utica Ford, who have only lost one this season, to the Lady Blue Devils.
Photos by Harrison Krasner ’14
