Lady Tigers third at Holiday Tourney
Lady Tigers third in N/V Holiday Tourney
VERDIGRE—The holidays brought joy to the Osmond Lady Tigers basketball team, which earned third place at the Niobrara/Verdigre Holiday Tournament in Verdigre after losing to Bloomfield 55-42 on Wednesday, December 28 and defeating Allen 45-32 Thursday, December 29.
The Tigers began the tournament a little slow in the first three quarters of the Bloomfield game.
The Queen Bees jumped to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter; they went into halftime with a 24-14 lead and put tacked on 19 more points in the third quarter to hold a 43-22 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
“We were very flat coming off the Christmas break and gave (Bloomfield) a large lead,” Tigers’ Head Coach Michael Brown said.
Then, though, in the fourth quarter, the Tigers pulled together and fought for the remainder of the game. They outscored Bloomfield 20-12 and played with noticeably more intensity than they had previously.
“After we caught our wind, we played relatively well…,” Brown said.
Overall, had a difficult time getting the ball in the hoop. They were 14-for-71 (20%) from the field, coupling that with 31 turnovers and 24 fouls hurt the Tigers.
Their main source of offensive production was junior guard Caitlin Kumm. She finished with 22 points (6-for-30 20%) and five rebounds.
The Tigers only had two other players who scored six or more points. These were Kelly Schuettler (Jr., F, 8pts) and Andrea Schmit (Jr., G/F, 6 pts).
Shelby Stelling (Jr., F) came off the bench and was a force defensively. She had nine rebounds and three steals.
Alex Brestel (Fr., G) contributed to the Tiger cause with two points and six rebounds (four offensive).
The Tigers rebounded in their tournament finale as they defeated Allen 45-32.
This began with a quick 10-0 run that led to a 13-5 Tiger lead at the end of the first quarter. The quick start was exactly what the Tigers needed.
“We came out and played very aggressively from the beginning and got off to a great start,” Brown said.
The great start continued into what would be a solid first half. They Tigers allowed just nine Eagle points and were up 25-9 headed into the third quarter.
Developing this lead proved invaluable for the Tigers who rode it through a relatively equal second half. The Eagles outscored the Tigers 23-21 for the remainder of the game.
Despite Allen’s attempts to erase their deficit, the Tigers remained calm to preserve their cushion.
With just over two minutes left in the contest, the Tigers were nearly able to bleed all the clock in just one possession.
Defensively, the Tigers stiffened from the afternoon before.
“We played very good defense and forced them into 30 turnovers on the evening,” Brown said.
The Tigers were also strong on the rebounds securing 29 second chances. They outrebounded the Eagles 47-23 overall.
They did a nice job from the free-throw line, hitting 11-of-19 shots (58%).
Turnovers and shooting were still bugaboos for the Tigers; they had 28 turnovers and shot just slightly better against Allen than they did Bloomfield (16-for-71 23%).
Individually, Kumm again led the charge for the Tigers with 19 points. However, Andrea Schmit had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Brestel scored six points and had three rebounds. Schuettler added 11 rebounds and four points. Emily Bolz (Jr., G) had seven rebounds.
Kendyl Koehler (Sr., F) had a nice game with four rebounds and three points.
The Tigers (3-4) move on to play in the first round of the Wausa Post Holiday Tournament on Friday, January 6 against Ewing.
Niobrara/Verdigre Tournament Round 1—Bloomfield vs. Osmond
|
Team |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
T |
|
Bloomfield |
17 |
7 |
19 |
12 |
55 |
|
Osmond |
5 |
9 |
8 |
20 |
42 |
Niobrara/Verdigre Tournament Round 2—Allen vs. Osmond
|
Team |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
T |
|
Allen |
5 |
4 |
11 |
12 |
32 |
|
Osmond |
13 |
12 |
9 |
12 |
46 |