By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Glendale Lady Falcons have been hungry for a winning season, and their 2022-2023 campaign is off to a flying start.
The unseeded Lady Falcons improved to 8-1 on the young season by knocking off sixth-seeded Carthage 78-49 in a first-round White Division game at Drury’s O’Reilly Family Event Center on Tuesday afternoon.
“From day one, when me and (Coach Barrett Milleson) got them in June, they’ve just been all-in,” said first-year Glendale girls’ coach Matt Powell. “It’s gotten progressively better, but they’ve been so attentive, and there’s obviously a hunger to win; they haven’t (won) in a while.
“When you’ve got a group of kids that are pretty good and athletic and haven’t won in a while… I can’t say enough about them. They’ve been awesome.”
The outcome of the game wasn’t evident in the first quarter as both teams played at a fast pace, with Glendale coming away with a 17-14 lead.
But the Lady Falcons broke the game open in the second quarter behind Reilly Heman’s 10 points and nine from Madelyn Zingg for a 41-30 advantage heading into the locker room.
By halftime, Glendale had dished out nine assists and added another nine in the second half, which displayed the desire the team has to be successful.
“They don’t care who has the big night,” Powell said. “They share the ball and they’re truly a team. It’s pretty special for it to happen so early, building from the ground up, so I can’t say enough about them.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
Glendale’s length caused problems for Carthage all afternoon. The Lady Falcons have two starters who stand 6-feet tall and two at 5-11.
“I thought Glendale just played the best game they’ve played all year,” Carthage coach Scott Moore said. “And that’s a compliment to them. They were more explosive offensively than I thought they were going to be. Their height, obviously, caused a lot of trouble for us. They start four girls over 5-11. I don’t have one (player) in my program that’s 5-11, so it’s hard to guard when they can shoot over top like that.”
The Lady Falcons went over the top, around and through the Lady Tigers, and they were finding each other throughout the game.
Heman, who is playing for her third coach in four years, scored a game-high 23 points, while adding five assists and three rebounds. She is excited to be on the winning side of things during her senior campaign.
“Coach Powell has kind of brought in a whole new culture; he’s built it into us,” said Heman, who has signed to play soccer for Missouri State University. “We’re starting to play the way that he’s teaching us to play and it’s paying off, so we’re excited. We love him.
“We’re off to a great start – most wins I’ve had in a season and we’re only nine games in.”
Heman was joined in double figures by Zingg (22), Avery Givens (14) and Rachel Flewell (10).
“I feel like our team has just started to click and we all feed off each other,” Heman said. “Our transition points really get us going, so that’s a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot of connections, so we just pass to each other, hope it goes in and we’re good.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Moore said he hopes his team will be able to build from this loss.
“I was disappointed in our defensive effort,” Moore said. “I thought we weren’t rotating to get into the spots, getting the help-side like we should. We have to cut down more of that penetration. So, that’s something we need to shore up in our shootaround tomorrow. We’ll play better defensively.
“Energy and effort, I thought was OK, but we haven’t played our best game yet. I just told our girls the next game has to be our best game and then we just build on it from there.”
Glendale will face south-side rival Kickapoo in the winners’ bracket quarterfinals at 5 p.m., today at Drury’s O’Reilly Family Event Center. Carthage will take on Springfield Catholic at 5 p.m., today at Kickapoo High School in the consolation bracket.
GLENDALE 78, #6 CARTHAGE 49
Pink and White Lady Classic
White Division first-round game
At O’Reilly Family Event Center
GLENDALE 17-24-18-19—78
CARTHAGE 14-16-10-9—49
GLENDALE (8-1) – Skylar Bencsek 6, Avery Givens 14, Reilly Heman 23, Madelyn Zingg 22, Rachel Flewell 10, Taija Jones 1, Megan Wade 2.
#6 CARTHAGE (5-3) – Lauren Choate 9, Maggie Boyd 10, Kianna Yates 16, Lexa Youngblood 6, Zye Clark 1, Ashlyn Brust 3, Jaidyn Brunnert 4.
Up next: White Division (second round, winners’ bracket) Glendale vs. Kickapoo, 5 p.m., Wednesday, O’Reilly Family Event Center; (consolation bracket) Carthage vs. Catholic, 5 p.m., Wednesday, Kickapoo High School
