Lady Tigercats go on the road to face College Place in nonleague game

The LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Lady Tigercats traveled to compete with College Place in the first game of the season on Dec. 4. The game is a nonleague match up, but the Lady Tigercats will face College Place once more this season.

The back and forth game proved to be a learning experience for the young Lady Tigercats team, but the game went in favor of College Place with a 24-33 final score.

Head Coach Jeff Gates said the Lady Tigercats main downfall during the match up was shooting, as the team only shot 25 percent from the field. The team also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 3 for 17 on the night.

While the team had a few forced shots, Gates said the team gained confidence as the game progressed and earned a lot of good looks at the hoop. The Lady Tigercats also had a successful offensive rebounding night, but still could not get the shots to fall.

Since the Lady Tigercats team is comprised mainly of underclassmen, Gates said the varsity team has not had the opportunity to practice or compete against an aggressive team.

College Place played a consistent and aggressive game, and Gates said the varsity squad had difficulty defending them, but the experience will help the Lady Tigercats in the upcoming games.

Gates said the Lady Tigercats trailed from the beginning of the game, but managed to keep the score close throughout the first quarter. By halftime, College Place had earned an 18-11 advantage.

“I was impressed how the girls fought back,” Gates said. “We got within five (points) in the fourth and the girls kept playing hard.”

Jazzmyn Gordon played an aggressive game, earning an estimated 15 rebounds during the game. Alynn Harder and Nicole Harder also had successful nights on the boards for the Lady Tigercats.

Alynn led the team in scoring with seven points, followed by Nicole Harder and Gordon who each had six points.

Autumn Meyers had three points for the Lady Tigercats and Jadyn Guske scored two points.

After starting in a man defense, Gates said the LWK team switched to a zone defense since College Place could beat their man defense. The downside of switching defenses is the Lady Tigercats were not as comfortable in a zone, and Gates said the team is going to focus on defensive strategies in practice this week.

Gates said the team also needed to work on executing their offense, as players constantly were out of rotation. Even though the team did not stay in their offense throughout the game, when the athletes moved the ball, they earned solid looks at the hoop.

In the upcoming games, Gates said the team is going to focus on running the proper zone defense and offense, while also working on plays to get the ball into their posts.

Gates said both post players, Gordon and Guske, had good looks at the hoop, as did Meyers who came in from the bench. They played aggressively and helped the Lady Tigercats gain momentum, Gates said.

For the first game of the season, Gates was impressed by the individual performance of the athletes. Many athletes stepped up for the Lady Tigercats and showed skills and confidence Gates had not seen consistently in practice.

Gates is confident if the Lady Tigercats continue to work on improving fundamentals and playing aggressive basketball, the team can have a successful season.

“The first game nerves played a factor for the team and the coaches, but I’m happy with how we responded,” Gates said. “The girls were encouraging to teammates and got better as the game went along.”

The Lady Tigercats host Liberty Christian in the first league game of the season on Friday, Dec. 11, in Kahlotus. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.