If defense-heavy, grind-it-out basketball is your thing, then Tuesday’s game between the Bradford and Otto-Eldred was probably right up your alley.
The Lady Terrors emerged victorious in a defensive slugfest, winning by the score of 37-26 to earn their second win in as many days (O-E defeated Eisenhower 55-19 on Monday).
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done,” O-E coach Barb Close said. “We’ll definitely get back to practice and clean a few things up.”
Despite going up against a squad returning most of the key players from a team that won a game at the state level last season, Bradford (0-3) held its own, playing stout defense throughout. Unfortunately, the shots simply weren’t falling for the Owls, especially in the second half where Bradford was held to just 10 points.
“We’ve stressed that to the girls all along: we’ve got to be able to put the ball in the basket,” BHS coach Bob Hannon said. “I think that’s exactly where we’re at; you come out at halftime and you’re down by four… we had good looks at the basket. It wasn’t like we didn’t get good looks.”
Neither team’s offense looked particularly good in the early going, with sloppy passes and travel violations prevalent on both sides.
While the offense left something to be desired, Hannon was pleased with how well his defense was performing early on against an experienced, talented Terrors squad.
“Ali Cousins is one of the better players in the district as a guard; she’s a good player,” Hannon said of the Otto senior. “I thought Makenzee Maley did a great job defensively on her.”
Hannon made note of his team’s effort, even when it wasn’t necessarily showing up in the stats.
“I thought that Brinya Moffett played one of the better games since she’s been here,” Hannon said. “I know it didn’t really show up in the box score — I thought she could’ve gotten to the free throw line more — but I thought in the first quarter especially she must have come up with four or five steals, a couple big rebounds. I thought she played pretty well out there.”
Bradford took a 14-13 lead with just under three minutes to go in the half when Erica Marshall (who finished with 10 points) hit a three-pointer.
But the Terrors responded with a 7-2 run to end the half spurred by senior Camryn Thomas, who scored 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half.
“Right now they have seniors that they can go to and they can get something done,” Hannon said. “We lack a couple of people where you can say, ‘Go get us a basket.’”
Bradford continued to get some good looks in the third quarter, but the Owls couldn’t capitalize.
“We’re young, and our youth shows a little bit in handling pressure,” Hannon said. “Hopefully we get better with each game. We were actually better with the pressure today than we were in (the) Hollidaysburg (Tournament), so that’s a positive.”
Poor shot selection — coupled with a stifling O-E defense — prevented Bradford from getting back into the game in the fourth quarter.
Now 2-0 on the young campaign, the Terrors will look to assert themselves as one of the top contenders in the North Tier League moving forward. A number of Otto-Eldred’s players recently finished a tremendous volleyball season that included a district title and a victory in the state tournament.
Despite a somewhat late start to the season, Close is confident in her players being able to get back into the swing of things.
“They had a great season and you’ve got to support that,” Close said of the Terrors’ volleyball campaign. “But most of these girls are returners so they can pick up where they left off. Now it’s just mixing in a few new people personnel-wise, trying to mix people in.”
Otto-Eldred will be back in action on Friday when the Terrors play host to the Randy Stebbins Memorial Tournament.
As for the Lady Owls, they will face another tough test on Thursday when they visit Coudersport.
Hannon will hope that his offense can perform at the same level as his defense did on Tuesday night.
“That’s the funny thing about the game,” he said, “If you put it in the basket, you’re right there. If you don’t, that’s what happens, and that’s kind of where we’re at.”
AT BRADFORD
Otto-Eldred (37)
Cousins 2 3-4 7, Shelander 1 1-2 3, Greeley 1 2-2 4, Camryn Thomas 6 4-9 16, Smith 1 2-4 4, Fredrick 1 1-1 3. Totals: 12 13-22 37.
Bradford (26)
Tyger 1 0-0 2, Erica Marshall 4 0-0 10, Lary 3 2-2 9, Maley 1 0-0 2, K. Moffett 1 0-0 2, B. Moffett 0 1-6-1. Totals: 10 3-8 26.
O-E 9 20 26 37
Bradford 9 16 21 26
Three-point goals: O-E 0, Bradford 3 (Marshall 2, Lary); Total fouls: O-E 12, Bradford 17; fouled out: none
JV: Otto-Eldred won
