By Scott Vanscoy
Galena, Mo. — The Hollister Lady Tigers defeated the Galena Lady Bears, 41-39, in an SWCL vs. COC-Small showdown on Tuesday night.
The Lady Bears jumped out to a nine point lead, only to see it slip away in the second half. Hollister used a furious comeback to go up seven before Galena knocked down five “3’s” to put them within one possession of tying the game.
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In the first quarter, neither team could find their rhythm as they struggled to score. Defensively, both teams played well but they just couldn’t buy a bucket. In the second quarter, their shooting woes continued but Galena was able to gain a nine point lead before Hollister came back to cut the lead to one, 18-19, at the half.
“We were sluggish and slow in the first quarter,” said Hollister coach Willy Morgan. “I was kind of happy they pressed us because we needed to work on that.”
“The story of two halves,” said Galena coach Mark Vert. “In the first half, we had a nine point lead and in that period of time we missed a couple of free throws, we missed a couple of layups, which would extend the nine point lead.”
Early in the second half, Galena made a quick three, putting them up 22-18. That was the last point they would score until they made a free throw late in the quarter. The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, used their transition game to go on an 8-1 run to end the quarter. Leading the way was sophomore Maddy Frenzel who used two breakaway layups to aid in the run.
“This has got to be one of the most aggressive games I’ve played in a while,” said Frenzel. “I feel like at the beginning of the game, everything was not under control. The harder I played the more in control I got and the better it was for me and my attitude. If we play this aggressive all season we’ll win a ton of games.”
Hollister held onto a precarious three point lead going into the fourth quarter. They would quickly transition missed Galena shots into a 33-26 lead with five minutes to go. Galena lived and died by the three, as all they made were five three-pointers and one of four free throws.
“We didn’t do a very good job in the second half,” said Vert. “It was just transition. We missed a shot, they go transition the other way, and they made a couple of layups. I think we missed three layups in the second half and that killed us. We didn’t make free throws in the second half, then we missed probably three or four chippies right at the block. That’s what we talked about afterwards; we’ve got to make shots. We shot a higher percentage from the three point line than we did in the lane. We need to work harder at it than that.”
Hollister gradually saw their lead grow, only to have Galena cut into that lead with their threes.
Hollister went 8 for 15 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help maintain their lead. The Lady Bears, with :30 to go, made it a one possession game when Mary Yocum knocked down a three to cut the lead 38-35.
Forced to foul, Hollister’s Brooklynn Cronin sank one of two free throws to put the Lady Tigers up four. With :09 left, Galena’s Ashlee Greenway was fouled shooting a three, giving her three free throws and a chance to put her team within one point.
Sadly, Galena’s shooting woes continued as Greenway made just one of the three. Hollister’s Alexa Bekemeir iced the game, knocking down two free throws, putting her team up 41-36. Greenway threw in a desperation three at the buzzer but it was too little, too late as Hollister secured the 41-39 victory.
“We did some good things, especially in the second half,” said Morgan. “We wanted to make patient passes and good decisions. We needed this win because we’ve played Cassville and Spokane the last two games and we let their pressure bother us. Tonight we were more relaxed, we ran our sets, did things we’d worked on. We switched our defense up, that 3-2 zone gave them fits.
“They did hit some three’s late, we were kind of sagging off them a bit too much. I’ve got a lot of young guards, a lot of sophomores, but tonight showed me that they are starting to figure it out. When we made our run in the third quarter, our confidence just blew up and we carried that into the fourth quarter.
“We’ve only got one win coming into the night so our confidence was a little shaky. Once that third quarter ended I knew fourth quarter we were going to play well. We’re young, we’ve just got to keep getting better. If we play like we did tonight we’ll be competitive.”
Hollister 6 12 8 15 -41
Galena 10 9 4 16 -39
Hollister—Armonie Stephenson-4, Raven Ross-8, Mallory Donavant-3, KK Thomas-8, Maddy Frenzel-8, Alexa Bekemeir-7, Beca Clarida-2, Brooklynn Cronin-1
Galena—Megan Caulfield-6, Abby Rice-5, Mary Yocum-13, Britney Doucey-1, Ashlee Greenway-14
