Tigers drop A, B games
Tigers drop A and B games at Wausa
WAUSA—The Osmond Tigers junior high basketball team continues to play better each time they step on the court.
They competed at Wausa on Tuesday, February 5. The Tigers lost the A game 32-19 and fell in sudden death overtime in the B game 8-6.
Holding an 11-10 lead headed into the half, the Tigers played well. The were breaking the press well and finding some open opportunities.
“We did a nice job in the first half, especially the first quarter,” Tigers coach Scott Morrison said. “Our defense was making it tough on Wausa, and we had five different girls score.”
Cali Gutz led the Tigers with five points. Leah Buchanan and Anna Kahny each had a basket. Caydence Krienert and Tessa Gardner each made a free-throw.
One of the visible improvements the girls made in the early going compared to their last game against Plainview was their press break.
“It’s not a huge secret that most teams defend us with man pressure, but our girls really responded well to Wausa’s pressure early in the game. This was an improvement!!”
Early in the game our girls were finding ways to get over the top of Wausa’s full-
court man pressure; however, the pressure and fatigue eventually wore on the girls.
This was especially true in the fourth quarter. This was the culprit causing the Tigers to lose the lead.
The Vikings outscored the Tigers 7-4 in the third quarter and then outscored them 15-4 in the fourth.
“We ran out of gas a bit in the second half, and we got down on ourselves a bit towards the end of the game. We did keep fighting though.”
Belle Vinson is a prime example of this. Right before the end of the game she wrestled away a rebound and passed the ball to Caydence Krienert who scored on an easy shot.
Leah Buchanan played well. She was doing a nice job setting entry screens. She did well to help break the man press early in the game.
Tessa Gardner had a good game overall. She did a pretty solid job adjusting defensively. She did a much better job taking away the high post going low as the game went on.
Callie Hoffman had a nice game. She made a really nice pass to Cali Gutz, leading Gutz to an easy layup opportunity.
The Tigers missed Reece Johns who is injured with a broken foot.
Overall the A game showed the Tigers continued improvement. The last time they faced Wausa, the Tigers lost in blowout fashion 37-7.
“I see our team getting better and better. It’s also tough to think that way when you don’t ‘win,’ but our girls are learning the game little-by-little. They do have potential to develop into solid high school players.”
Juliana Kumm keeps getting better and better. She finds ways to put herself in good position for rebounds defensively.
In the B game, she was assertive and took some good shot attempts.
Speaking of the B game, the Tigers lost in sudden-death overtime 6-4.
Overall the Tigers played well. Buchanan, Kahny, and Krienert all did a nice job with the ball in their hands.
Gardner scored after taking a beautiful shot in rhythm. Hoffman, Vinson, and Kumm all took shots.
“We choosing to take good shots for the most part, but sometimes these shots are off balance. We’ve got to elevate above our defenders, taking jump shots to get the ball closer to the hoop.”
The Tigers did a nice job defensively for the most part. They played over 12:00 and gave up only six points.
The Tigers have two more tournaments to go in their regular season. This start with the O Club Tourney on Saturday, February 9.
They play Plainview at 1:00 PM.
A Game |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
F |
Osmond |
8 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
19 |
Wausa |
2 |
8 |
7 |
15 |
32 |
B Game |
4th |
F |
Osmond |
4 |
4 |
Wausa |
6 |
6 |