The long holiday break? The frigid weather? Just one of those days?
Whatever the cause, a dismal shooting performance resulted in the first loss of the season for the Boone Central girls basketball team at the St. Paul Holiday Tournament Friday, Jan. 2.
The Lady Cardinals had trouble scoring from close range, long range and the foul line in a 46-40 loss to Gothenburg in the opening round of the annual holiday tourney.
Boone Central bounced back and improved to 6-1 by thumping host St. Paul 75-34 in the consolation game Saturday.
“We were disappointed with the loss, but we’re focused on moving forward and showing improvement in scoring the basketball,” commented BC Head Coach Mike Kennedy. “We’re excited to get back into a regular schedule of games and finding out how we match up with some of the best teams in our area.”
Boone Central matched up well with Gothenburg, but simply could not get enough shots to fall against the Lady Swedes.
“This game really came down to one or two critical possessions and we really struggled converting scoring opportunities into points,” Kennedy said. “We executed our offense well enough to get good shots, but simply did not make enough of them, especially in the first half.
“In the second half, we forced a number of turnovers, but once again really struggled turning them into points. I was pleased with how hard we went to the offensive boards, how active our post game was and how we kept battling to get back in the game.
“Our effort was good, our defense was intense and we attacked them in the post, but when you shoot 24 percent from the field and 54 percent from the line, it is difficult to win against a quality opponent.”
Boone Central warmed up and turned around its offensive performance Saturday, blasting St. Paul 75-34 in their highest-scoring effort of the season.
“We got off to a good start by scoring 25 points in the first quarter and never really looked back from there,” Kennedy noted. “Julia Temme gave us a great spark by hitting 3 of 5 three-point attempts in the first half.
“Coach (Justin) DeWitt and Coach (Duke) Glidden have worked very hard with our post players this season and it really showed in this game, as all our post players scored well and passed the ball effectively,” he added. “Cara Struebing had a great game with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting.”
Sometimes, when it rains, it pours, and the Cards dumped a deluge on the Wildcats in the first period Saturday.
Brittany Luettel scored eight points, hitting two three-pointers, and Temme added a pair of treys in the quarter. Struebing scored six points in the paint and Paulson added a pair of baskets as BC took a commanding 25-10 lead.
Complete Details in Print Edition of Albion News.
