December 17, 2009
Lady Pirates get after it, notch pair of wins
Jim Blow/Valley Journal
Riley Kenney concentrates on a free throw at the divisional tournament last year. Kenney scored eight points in each of Polson's first two basketball games of the season last weekend.
Valley Journal
POLSON — It may be early and there's still a lot of improvement to make, but Polson's Lady Pirates got the season started with two confidence-building wins at the Polson-Ronan Tip-off Tournament last weekend.
Polson opened the season Friday with a 44-27 win over Corvallis, then combined aggressive defense and good free throw shooting to beat Frenchtown 43-39 on Saturday.
Polson held a 9-7 lead after the first eight minutes against Corvallis, then went on a 16-point run to take a 25-17 lead into halftime. The Lady Pirates' defense secured the win by holding the Blue Devils to 10 second-half points as they cruised to a 44-27 win.
Defense was the main point of emphasis as Polson got to practice a couple of different schemes.
"We ran a little man in the first half and switched to zone midway through the second. We mixed it up a little ... our plan was to switch up the defenses to get a little work on it. The girls did pretty well, but we need to get much better at it," Polson head coach Randy Kelley explained. "Our girls struggled a little on offense ... defense seems to come easier early in the year. We've got a ways to go as far as continuity, but I was pleased with our shots. Our selection was good all weekend."
Breanne Kelley led Polson with 14 points, while Riley Kenney had eight points, Mariah Hamel had seven and both Nicole Davey and Kalya Duford had five each. Davey also led Polson on the boards with 12 rebounds.
"For a sophomore, Mariah did a pretty good job as far as taking care of the ball. And she's just going to get better, as will Riley. And Nicole had a big night rebounding, which we'll need," coach Kelley said. "Bre didn't shoot bad, but she runs the court well and got a lot off layups. We need to get her shot in a groove."
This quick, athletic bunch will produce a lot of layups this year. All of them like to take it to the rack.
"Sierra (Pete) can slash, along with Nicole and Bre, and Kayla did a great job off the bench. Kayla might be 5'6", but she rebounds like she's a six-footer," Kelley explained.
Polson shot 14-for-46 from inside the arc and hit three of four three-point attempts.
"We'll have to find some three-point shooters. Kayla (Duford), Mariah (Hamel) and Kendyall (Rochin) are all capable. We didn't shoot a lot last weekend, but we'll have to be able to hit the three this year," Kelley said.
He's also looking forward to his girls playing better down the stretch.
"In the second half we wore them down a little, but I saw a lot of girls with red faces," Kelley noted. "We're definitely not in basketball shape yet. But we did a good job on defense ... scoring 10 points because of the effort the girls put forth."
Polson used some transition buckets to fuel a 15-point second quarter that gave the Lady Pirates a 23-15 halftime lead against Frenchtown.
"In the second quarter we switched to a 1-2-1-1 full-court press. But the big thing was we attacked the basket and cashed in on our free throws," coach Kelley said. "They had a lot of turnovers that half. That's going to be our defensive makeup ... we're going to have to get after people."
Polson's defense held Frenchtown to 21 points through three quarters before the Lady Broncs went on an 18-point tear late in the fourth quarter. But Polson managed 11 points and held off Frenchtown for the 43-39 win.
Kelley led all scorers with 15 points, while Kenney and Pete put up eight points apiece. Kenney also had five boards, while Kelley had six steals to lead Polson.
Kelley puts his daughter up on the ball during a press to take advantage of her good hands and quickness.
"She's pretty good about getting her hands on the ball. Anytime we extend our defense, we'll have her or Nicole (Davey) up front. We usually have mismatches on those girls when we get our four fast girls up there ... Nicole, Bre, Mariah and Sierra and Kayla Duford, too, and Kendyall Rochin ... We've got a lot of girls who are pretty quick and pretty smart. This is a pretty bright bunch."
Kelley plans on using their athleticism, quickness and good decision-making to their advantage.
"We're going to be attacking off transition. We don't have to necessarily get set up in an offense ... I'd rather we get down the floor and look to slash to basket. We're pretty good at that with the ball in our hands," the coach explained.
The Lady Pirates will stay busy this week as they travel to Whitefish on Friday, then host Missoula Big Sky on Saturday.
Summary
Tip-off Tournament
Polson-Ronan
Dec. 11-12, 2009
Friday
Polson 44, Corvallis 27
Polson 9 16 9 10 – 44
Corvallis 7 10 6 4 – 27
POLSON - Kendyall Rochin 2, Mariah Hamel 7, Sierra Pete 3, Breanne Kelley 14, Riley Kenney 8, Kayla Duford 5, Nicole Davey 5.
CORVALLIS - Whit Cranmore 2, Coral Higuera 10, Amanda Rautt 2, Jen Mosbrucker 1, Megan Auch 12.
Saturday
Polson 43, Frenchtown 39
Polson 8 15 9 11 – 43
Frenchtown 8 7 6 18 – 39
POLSON - Kendyall Rochin 1, Mariah Hamel 4, Breanne Kelley 15, Sierra Pete 8, Riley Kenney 8, Nicole Davey 5, Marlee Berry 2.
FRENCHTOWN - Jaylyn Garrison 1, Shelby Jutila 12, Keller Leishman 9, Angel Lowry 2, Kelsey Fallis 4, Brittany Belker 10. |
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