(December 27th, 2014) – ARCHBOLD: For the first time in 8 games, the Lady Blackbirds tasted deafeat.
After winning their first 7 games of the season, including 3 against North Western Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) competition, the girls of Pettisville fell to the Lady Blue Streaks of Archbold. That’s not to say they went down without a fight, however. In fact, it took overtime for the traditional NWOAL power to slip past Pettisville by a score of 38-37.
Early on, the contest was a defensive struggle. By the end of the first quarter, Pettisville trailed 6-4. The second period was also a low scoring affair, with the Lady Blackbirds outscoring the Blue Streaks 5-4. This put the visiting Blackbirds down just 10-9 at halftime.
Both teams were able to expand upon their offense in the second half. The Archbold girls expanded their lead to 4 points as Pettisville found themselves in a 20-16 deficit. The Blackbird girls were able to make up the difference in the game’s fourth period, though, winning the quarter 14-10. In the extra time, the two teams battled ferociously. But the Blue Streaks were able to hold on to a 1 point lead to take the contest.
Pettisville Head Coach Jason Waldvogel was pleased with his team’s defensive effort.
“We played very well defensively tonight.”
Despite shooting 41% from the floor, Waldvogel was a bit frustrated with the Blackbird girls missing some open shots.
“We had several good looks at the basket, especially in the first half and just didn’t convert them.” Waldvogel stated.
Most of the scoring for Pettisville was done by the senior duo of Dana Fricke and Mikala Avina. Fricke put up a strong 20 points, making 6 two-point field goals and 8 free throws. Avina contributed 11 points to the Blackbird effort, hitting a three along the way.
Even though they managed to pull in 30 rebounds against Archbold, the Lady Blackbirds still lost the battle of the boards by 7. Pettisville also lost the turnover battle, as they committed 15 to the Lady Blue Streaks’ 10. Both of these issues played a role in the loss, according to Waldvogel.
“We need to rebound better and not turn the ball over like we did tonight, especially against a good team like Archbold.”
While these deficiencies may have held back Pettisville from meeting their full potential, this game still could have gone either way. The Lady Blackbirds certainly played well enough to win.