(January 20th, 2015) – WEST UNITY: The Lady Cadets simply gave Fairview too many chances to stay in the game.
Giving the Apaches too many shot opportunities proved to be a crucial mistake for the Hilltop girls. They dropped the home contest to their Green Meadows Conference (GMC) opponent 49-43.
The two teams slugged it out in the first half. In the first period, the Cadets and Apaches traded blows, with each squad totaling 8 points by the last buzzer of the quarter. During the second quarter, Hilltop was able to gain a slight advantage, despite the Fairview girls keeping pace with them. At the half, the Lady Cadets held a 3 point lead over their guests, 24-21.
Fairview stepped up hard in the second half, however. Taking charge in the third quarter, the Lady Apaches outscored the girls of West Unity 13-8, effectively shifting momentum and giving the GMC school a 2 point advantage of their own. With a score of 34-32 in the Apaches favor, the fourth and final quarter would have a major impact on determining the winner of the contest.
In that quarter, the Cadets failed to make up any ground, as the Lady Apaches added a bit more distance between the two units. Ending the game on a 15-11 downswing, Hilltop let is slip away in the 6 point defeat.
So what happened?
It began with turnovers. The Hilltop girls turned the ball over 22 times against the Apache defense. Comparatively, Fairview committed just 14 turnovers. This differential is more or less the same as the visiting Apaches an eight possession edge over the Cadet girls.
Rebounding was another critical factor in the game. Hilltop was able to procure 19 rebounds, while Fairview pulled down 26. Not unlike turnovers, rebounds also create, or take away, opportunities to score. Whether they give an offense an extra attempt at a basket, or limit the opposing offense’s chances at scoring, the battle of the boards has a lot to do with who’s putting points on the scoreboard.
These two statistics led to the Lady Apaches taking several more shots than their Buckeye Border Conference hosts. Despite both teams shooting 33% from the field, Fairview was able to take 60 shots in the game, while Hilltop only managed 40. Allowing an opponent 20 more chances to score makes it difficult to win.
Allie Schmitt made the most of her own shot attempts, knocking down a pair of three’s on her way to a team leading 11 points. She also had 3 steals. The lone senior on the squad, Destiny Denton, earned 10 points while also sharing the ball for 5 assists. Their teammate, second year player Felicity Jackson, hit 2 shots from beyond the arc as she totaled 6 points, while fellow sophomore Abby Schaper contributed 5 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.