Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
The LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Lady Tigercats recorded their first win of the season on Dec. 15 when they defeated Prescott. The Lady Tigercats earned the win with a final score of 46-35.
Head Coach Jeff Gates said the win served as a good opportunity for the Lady Tigercats to build confidence on the court and work on strengthening their fundamental skills.
While the game went in favor of the LWK team, Gates said the team still has a lot of improvement to make, as the Lady Tigercats should have won by more points.
Gates said Prescott pressed the Lady Tigercats throughout the entire game and caused problems for the team offensively.
Prescott would bring two or three defenders up towards the ball, and Gates said the Lady Tigercats would panic and attempt to pass to the closest teammate. The decisions resulted in multiple turnovers for the LWK team, but also helped them improve on their press break and start learning to see the floor.
Jazzmyn Gordon found the weakness in the Prescott press, as one Lady Tigercat was always open. Gordon saw the open look at the hoop for Autumn Meyers, and pushed the ball up the court to her for five uncontested lay-ins.
In the third quarter, the Lady Tigercats picked up their intensity level and went on a 14-point scoring run in four minutes. The team was able to break down the press, see the open shots and work on consistency as a team.
As a whole, Gates said Prescott had a slight height advantage on the Lady Tigercats, but Prescott earned multiple points on lucky shots. Gates said the Lady Tigercats did not block out well on rebounding, giving up a few baskets, but were able to have a better shooting percentage than Prescott.
Gordon earned her second double-double for the year with 19 points and 16 boards for the Lady Tigercats. She also added six assists to her total for the night.
Meyers ended the game with a season high of 11 points. Alynn Harder added six points, Jazlynn Webb had five points and Nicole Harder scored two. Jordanne Webb, Kiernan Hartwell and Alicia Stanaway each had one point.
The Lady Tigercats went on the road on Dec. 18 to face St. John-Endicott in a league battle. The LWK team returned home with a 19-66 loss.
Gates said the team went into the game coming off a poor week of practice, as the team did not practice the day prior due to weather conditions. He said the team hung with SJE for the first few minutes of play, before things slowly unraveled for the team.
The Lady Tigercats have struggled with consistency in running the offense and Gates said the game against SJE was not an exception. The LWK team also struggled with the entry pass against the Lady Eagles two-three zone.
Though the game quickly went in favor of the Lady Eagles, Gates said the Lady Tigercats are improving on their confidence at handling multiple situations on the court. He has also been impressed with multiple athletes stepping up to play aggressively, both on offense and defense.
Against SJE, the Lady Tigercats played primarily in a zone defense in order to try to balance out the Lady Eagles height and quickness advantage. Gates said the Lady Eagles were good at pushing the ball inside, leading to multiple scoring opportunities due to the Lady Tigercats’ lack of height.
Alynn Harder led the team in scoring with six points, followed by Nicole Harder with five. Jazlynn Webb hit a 3-pointer for the team. Jadyn Guske and Meyers each had two points, while Gordon had one point.
Gates said moving on into the upcoming league games, the team needs to focus on eliminating the fundamental mistakes. Turnovers continue to be the primary concern for the team, as the Lady Tigercats need to become more confident making bounce passes to keep the ball out of the hands of their defenders.
The Lady Tigercats went on the road to play Oakesdale on Dec. 22 and will not return to the court until Jan. 8 when they play Pomeroy in LaCrosse.
Reader Comments(0)