In its first game of the new year, the Bradford girls basketball team faced off against District 10 foe Warren, losing, 66-22, from sloppy passing and a struggling offense.
Turnovers were a problem for the Lady Owls off the jump. The Lady Dragons opened the game with a pseudo-full-court-press that came away with a steal on the Lady Owls’ first possession. Collecting steal after steal, the Lady Dragons cashed in on fast break points, or used their crisp passing to shift the Lady Owls defense and find open shooters.
In the second quarter it was more of the same, including the Lady Owls turning the ball over on their first play. While the Lady Dragons continued to pad their lead, Bradford looked deflated early, as slow rotations and limited movement on offense only widened the gap on the scoreboard. At the end of the half, the Lady Owls were down 45-16.
“We don’t shoot well enough right now, we just don’t. One or two (of us) get hot, but its easy (for the defense) to take one or two players out of the game,” said Bradford head coach Marty Bechelli. “The other kids have to step up.”
Coming out of the break, the Lady Owls looked to have some new-found energy and hustle. Running their initial offense with several hand-offs and back door cuts, the Lady Owls found good looks but were still unable to connect. Bradford’s energy spread to the defensive side of the court, as well, in the form of pressuring shooters and collapsing in the paint.
However, the Lady Dragons continued to push ahead, continuously cashing in on 3-pointers despite the Lady Owls closeouts. Eventually, with nothing seeming to work, the turnovers returned for the Lady Owls as they gave up possessions and easy points, allowing the Lady Dragons to end the third quarter on a 12-4 run.
With a running clock, the Lady Dragons immediately slowed down their offense. Passing slowly around the perimeter, Warren burned the clock.
“Tonight I just don’t think we hustled, from start to finish. We just didn’t go for it. We have a tendency that when we panic we throw the wrong pass to the wrong people,” said Bechelli. “It’s not like we don’t work on it, but we have limited basketball players. We have great kids but we don’t have a lot of them.”
Alana Benson was the sole Lady Owl to end with double-digit points, finishing with 11 that came off of two 3-pointers.
AT BRADFORD Warren (66)
Ruhlman 8 0-0 16, Stuart 5 4-6 16, Kuzminski 5 0-0 10, Farr 2 2-2 8, Irwin 3 2-2 8, Davidson 1 0-0 2, Roell 1 0-0 2, Wotorson 0 2-2 2, Foster 1 0-0 2. Totals:
Benson 3 3-4 11, Persichini 2 0-0 6, Johnson 0 2-2 2, Ko. Dixon 0 1-2 1. Totals:
Three-point goals: Warren 4 (Farr 2, Stuart 2), Bradford 4 (Benson 2, Persichini 2); Total fouls: Warren 13, Bradford 12; fouled out:
JV: Warren won 41-19
