By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Making its first appearance at the Pink & White Lady Classic since 2011, Blue Eye never got much of a chance to show off its well-reputed full-court defensive pressure Tuesday.
Instead, the Lady Bulldogs proved the strength of their half-court defense, even while plagued by fouls, in a 50-40 first-round win over Springfield Glendale.
Starters Taylor Arnold, Ayshia Bettlach and Kohnnar Patton each played the final six minutes with four fouls, as Blue Eye closed the contest with a 16-3 run.
“You had to play smart,” Patton said. “I wanted to bail myself out. I kind of stayed back, but still put on as much pressure as I could.”
“It was disappointing because I wanted to be out there helping my team,” added Arnold, who had eight of her game-high 14 points in the first-half. “We had to be careful and smart and not foul. We didn’t go full-court (defensively) against them. That helped.”
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For coach Ken Elfrink, it was better late than never for his team to find the balance between being aggressive and overly aggressive.
“I told them, ‘Hey, that’s the way it is. You’ve still got to guard and I need you on the floor to handle the ball,’” Elfrink said while recalling his instructions to his players during timeouts. “I tried to make sure I had one of them on the floor at all times. We didn’t back down. We locked down and were physical with them.”
Offensively, Patton was only 3-of-14 from the field in her 10-point outing. But she answered Glendale’s final challenge by swishing a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. The Lady Falcons took a 35-34 lead on back-to-back treys by Madison Marsh and Grace Matthews when Patton provided a 3-pointer of her own.
“They played really good defense, that was the main thing,” Patton said of Blue Eye’s struggles offensively. “We haven’t played anyone who has gotten out and guarded us like they did.”
Blue Eye (9-1) clinched its win by making 5-of-6 free throws over the final two minutes. In contrast, the Lady Bulldogs had made only two trips to the charity stripe over the first 20 minutes.
“We wanted to get to the free-throw line,” Patton said. “But we didn’t attack like we normally do. We kind of settled (for perimeter shots) at first. In the second half, we started to attack them more.”
“We didn’t attack like we could have and should have,” Elfrink said. “We weren’t aggressive trying to get to the free-throw line. But we got there late in the game. That’s what mattered.”
Glendale (2-8) led by as many as seven in the first half. The Lady Falcons’ ball-handling held them back, as they finished with 23 turnovers.
Macie Stephens suffered an injury to her right wrist midway through the third quarter and never returned. She had eight points.
“She does a lot for us at both ends,” Lady Falcons coach Trish Marsh said. “She’s a key to what we do and we’ve relied on her to this point. It definitely hurt to lose her.”
Stephens was injured while trying to draw a charging foul.
Glendale put up only two points in the third quarter. But the Lady Falcons managed to briefly gain the lead at 37-35, before slumping late.
Matthews collected 12 points and seven rebounds.
“We still weren’t out of it,” Marsh said. “We kept our composure and made plays. But then it kind of fell apart for us again. Sometimes, you relax after you make a bucket when you’ve got to get a defensive stop.
“We did some good things. Consistency for our team is a big thing right now. I’m trying to get our kids to play to a constant level of intensity on both ends of the court. Sometimes, we haven’t got that, yet. But I’m staying positive with this group. At least we’re competing. We just need to find a way to win.”
Blue Eye moves on to meet Branson and super sophomore Priscilla Williams in second-round play.
“I’m super excited about it,” Patton said. “I saw her play at a showcase over the summer and in an AAU game. It’s going to be exciting to play against her.”
Glendale 14 9 2 15 – 40
Blue Eye 16 7 8 19 – 50
GLENDALE (40) – Macie Stephens 8, Gracie Matthews 12, Kyndall Phillips 3, Hannah Pinkston 8, Gabby Matthews 3, Madison Marsh 6.
BLUE EYE (50) – Ayshia Bettlach 8, Kenedi Larson 12, Taylor Arnold 14, Kohnnar Patton 10, Kenzie Hobbs 2, Katelynn Hansen 4.
