Second-half scoring woes sink Lady Spartans
By JOHN GALBREATH Sports Editor
Stanwood’s Samantha Kelleigh, a sophomore guard/wing continues to be one of the Lady Sparts’ best scorers this season. PHOTO BY JOHN GALBREATH | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS
After playing their opponents point-for-point throughout the first half of each of their Western Conference 4A North hoop encounters last week, the Lady Spartans (2-4 in league, 4-6 overall) found the second half less to their liking as they absorbed a pair of league losses to Marysville- Pilchuck (71-46) and Oak Harbor (49-41).
Trailing by just three points, 27-24, after two quarters against the Tomahawks, the hosts blistered the local lasses with 44 counters in the final two periods last Tuesday evening.
“We had a decent first half with execution of our game plan, but we lost focus in the second half as our passing against their halfcourt press was too soft when we used lob passes instead of hard, quick passes. Those turned into turnovers,” said head coach Dennis Kloke.
Samantha Kelleigh paced the Sparts’ scoring with 14 points while teammate Brenda Bingham had 10. Others who scored for Stanwood were Jade Borseth 8, Rachel Swartz 6, Kaitlyn Johnson 4, Tarah Murphy 2, Emily Chappel 1 and Kallen Shaughnessy 1.
Actually, against the Wildcats, the Spartans only trailed by one point, 31-30, after three periods of play. Once again, however, poor shooting led to their demise. They were successful on just 20 percent (14-of-69) of their field goal attempts, including just 7-of-32 from behind the three-point line.
“We got some good shots against their 2-3 zone,” Kloke noted, “but we could not knock them down.”
Sarah Titus and Kelleigh shared high-point honors by netting 12 points each. The latter sank four treys while Titus hit two three-pointers.
“I was really pleased with Sarah in this game as she is returning to herself after suffering a concussion early in the season,” commented Kloke. “Samantha continues to be a threat from the outside as well.”
Sophomore wing Brenda Bingham corralled 17 errant caroms and scored four points while freshman post Rachel Swartz grabbed 12 rebounds, swatted away four Wildcat shot attempts and tallied four points and Tarah Murphy had two points.
Jade Borseth added seven points during the game, but it was her defense that stood out.
“Jade did a good job on Jessica Denmon (the Wildcats’ 5-foot-6 shooting guard). She held her below her league-leading average,” said the coach.
“The team is practicing with intensity and improvement. We just need to carry that into games on a regular basis,” Kloke summarized.
