It's not Rocket Science, BUT it's the Rockets !!!!!
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THE CHOPS
- Official BleacherCoach
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It's not Rocket Science, BUT it's the Rockets !!!!!
CAIRNBROOK - The Rockwood girl's basketball team continued to improve on its recent hardwood successes Tuesday night, as the Rockets traveled to Shade and doubled up the Panthers, 46-23.
Rockwood fueled its victory with a scoring burst from the outset, launching itself to a 21-6 lead by the time the first quarter had expired.
Senior guard Sarah King stepped up to guide that effort by going 4-for-4 from the floor in the opening period, including an impressive, fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer.
At the other end, Rockwood's trapping defense was very effective in containing Shade's offense, often preventing shots altogether. That, combined with strong ball control on the offensive end, resulted in very few quality scoring opportunities for the hosts.
The offenses cooled toward halftime as both sides further shored up their defenses and defensive rebounding, but by the half, Rockwood (8-4) had built a 30-8 lead that proved insurmountable.
Shade continued to fight for every loose ball and rebound, yet chances were hard to come by.
"We got a few shots off early," said Shade coach Anita Gibbons, whose team kept pace with Rockwood for the first two minutes. But the turnovers created by Rockwood's pressure eventually caught up with her Panthers. "We only shot 13 times in the first half, as a team. Even if we had shot perfect from the floor, we still would've been down."
In the second half, Shade put together better results on the scoreboard as a few breaks started to favor the Panthers.
The fourth quarter was a bright spot, as the Shade defense began to stifle Rockwood. In fact, had Stephanie Stahl not scored on a jumper with 15 seconds remaining, the Panthers would have shut the Rockets out in the quarter.
"We're starting to jell, I guess you could say," Rockets coach Marya McCool said. "We're starting to get used to each other. We had some tough games in the beginning of the season that we lost, close games, and we played some very good basketball teams."
Rockwood's unselfish play led to three players reaching double digits in scoring. King tallied 15 points, all in the first half, but when the Panthers began to defend her more effectively, Rockwood looked to the interior and junior Joanna Nist, whose baseline jump shot was accurate throughout the game. Nist totaled eight points in the third quarter and finished with 14 overall while Kayla Cramer quietly scored from all over the floor, adding 12.
"We are going to start being patient. We're getting a lot better at that," McCool said. "We don't actually have a star on this team and everybody can shoot the ball. Sometimes we are too unselfish, though."
For Shade (1-7), junior Laura Sesack was consistent throughout the evening, scoring in every quarter and accounting for 11 of Shade's 23 points. Danielle Zubek added six points while Anna Sobieski scored four.
Key contributor Jen Sandusky has missed the entire season with an injury, which takes on amplified importance due to the Shade's already short bench.
"We tend to panic when there's pressure," Gibbons said. "We don't have a lot of pressure in practice, because we don't have enough bodies to practice against. Rockwood played a great game - they played tough defense. Our goal was to hold Nist to maybe 10 points in the first half, and Sarah King stepped it up and played a great game. They have a lot of depth on their team."
"THE CHOPS".
Rockwood fueled its victory with a scoring burst from the outset, launching itself to a 21-6 lead by the time the first quarter had expired.
Senior guard Sarah King stepped up to guide that effort by going 4-for-4 from the floor in the opening period, including an impressive, fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer.
At the other end, Rockwood's trapping defense was very effective in containing Shade's offense, often preventing shots altogether. That, combined with strong ball control on the offensive end, resulted in very few quality scoring opportunities for the hosts.
The offenses cooled toward halftime as both sides further shored up their defenses and defensive rebounding, but by the half, Rockwood (8-4) had built a 30-8 lead that proved insurmountable.
Shade continued to fight for every loose ball and rebound, yet chances were hard to come by.
"We got a few shots off early," said Shade coach Anita Gibbons, whose team kept pace with Rockwood for the first two minutes. But the turnovers created by Rockwood's pressure eventually caught up with her Panthers. "We only shot 13 times in the first half, as a team. Even if we had shot perfect from the floor, we still would've been down."
In the second half, Shade put together better results on the scoreboard as a few breaks started to favor the Panthers.
The fourth quarter was a bright spot, as the Shade defense began to stifle Rockwood. In fact, had Stephanie Stahl not scored on a jumper with 15 seconds remaining, the Panthers would have shut the Rockets out in the quarter.
"We're starting to jell, I guess you could say," Rockets coach Marya McCool said. "We're starting to get used to each other. We had some tough games in the beginning of the season that we lost, close games, and we played some very good basketball teams."
Rockwood's unselfish play led to three players reaching double digits in scoring. King tallied 15 points, all in the first half, but when the Panthers began to defend her more effectively, Rockwood looked to the interior and junior Joanna Nist, whose baseline jump shot was accurate throughout the game. Nist totaled eight points in the third quarter and finished with 14 overall while Kayla Cramer quietly scored from all over the floor, adding 12.
"We are going to start being patient. We're getting a lot better at that," McCool said. "We don't actually have a star on this team and everybody can shoot the ball. Sometimes we are too unselfish, though."
For Shade (1-7), junior Laura Sesack was consistent throughout the evening, scoring in every quarter and accounting for 11 of Shade's 23 points. Danielle Zubek added six points while Anna Sobieski scored four.
Key contributor Jen Sandusky has missed the entire season with an injury, which takes on amplified importance due to the Shade's already short bench.
"We tend to panic when there's pressure," Gibbons said. "We don't have a lot of pressure in practice, because we don't have enough bodies to practice against. Rockwood played a great game - they played tough defense. Our goal was to hold Nist to maybe 10 points in the first half, and Sarah King stepped it up and played a great game. They have a lot of depth on their team."
"THE CHOPS".