(December 5th, 2014) – PETTISVILLE: North Central and Pettisville met in each team’s first foray into Buckeye Border Conference play on the young season, with the Blackbirds pulling off an impressive victory on their home court.
Never allowing the Lady Eagles to score more than 5 points in a quarter, Pettisville claimed a decisive win against a league opponent, 38-14.
Pettisville Head Coach Jason Waldvogel was not satisfied with his team’s performance, however.
“I don’t believe we ever got into the flow of the game.” Waldvogel stated. “Our defense was firm, but did not execute the offense like we should have.”
Offensively, the senior duo of Mikala Avina and Dana Fricke continued to score often, but the team’s production dropped off significantly behind them. Fricke led all scorers with 15 points, while Avina connected on 2 three-point attempts as she earned 11 points. The next leading scorer for Pettisville was sophomore Alexa Leppelmeier with 4 points.
The Blackbird defense played well enough to counter the imbalance of the offense, though. Pettisville held North Central to just 3 field goals in the contest. With just 13 attempts, the Lady Eagles had a much harder time getting into their offense than the Pettisville girls. The hometown Blackbirds shot 39% from the floor, as opposed to North Central’s 23%.
Rachel Oxender, a senior for North Central, was the primary source of points for the Lady Eagles with 6. Junior Cady VanDeVoorde earned 4 points against the tough Blackbird defense. The third field goal belonged to Charlie Baker, a sophomore.
The offensive struggles of the Eagles didn’t cease with their shooting woes. They also turned the ball over 21 times against Pettisville. In stark contrast, the Lady Blackbirds only had 11 turnovers.
In terms of rebounding, North Central found themselves outmatched as well. Collecting 15 boards as a unit, the Lady Eagles saw Pettisville beat their total by ten, with 25 rebounds.
If there is a consistent weakness to this Blackbird team, it’s free throw shooting. The Eagles actually edged them out with a 57% success rate, as opposed to the Pettisville girls’ 55% effort from the line. Both teams have had a hard time with free throws so far this season.
While the defeat may seem like a bad one for North Central, Pettisville has played extremely well so far this year, knocking off North Western Ohio Athletic League foes Wauseon and Delta. While the Lady Eagles still have a lot of work to do, this is far from a trend to be expected by the North Central faithful.
