West Rutland cruises by Proctor, 40-31
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West Rutland's Toni Girardi (5) protects the ball against the defense of Proctor's Nicole Valach in Monday's Marble Valley League girls basketball game at West Rutland's Hinchey Gym. CASSANDRA HOTALING / RUTLAND HERALD |
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By Dennis Jensen Staff Writer - Published: December 22, 2009
WEST RUTLAND — With five seniors in its starting lineup, the West Rutland girls basketball team brings talent honed from experience. With one senior and two freshmen in Proctor's starting five, the Phantoms are still learning how fast-paced the varsity game can be.
West Rutland led by 12 points after one period and 17 at halftime, then coasted to a 40-31 victory over Proctor in a Marble Valley League D Division game at Hinchey Gym Monday.
Katie Lincoln had a double-double to lead Westside. The senior guard scored 14 points and had 10 steals. Sierra Pease had eight points and Amanda Ames and Brooke Griswold each scored six points for the Horde.
Proctor's Carissa Elrick led all scorers with 18 points, with 16 of those coming in the second half. Megan Carter had eight rebounds and six points, making it a combined 24 points for the two starting freshmen.
Westside's ferocious, full-court pressure defense and points off turnovers put the Golden Horde way ahead early on. The 3-2 Golden Horde took a 14-2 lead, with 10 of those points scored in the paint, after one quarter of play, then stretched its lead to 24-7 at the half.
The Golden Horde pressed the entire first quarter and it paid dividends. Proctor turned the ball over nine times in the first, with five of those coming off the full-court press. It didn't help that the 2-4 Phantoms were missing shots from both outside and inside.
Lincoln had six steals and nine points in the first half.
"We don't have a lot of tall players so we rely on quickness for our defense to get us into our offense," she said.
With two Division III losses — including a one-point loss to Twin Valley — out of the way, the Golden Horde has three straight Division IV wins.
"We're looking good right now," Lincoln said. "But we have a lot of improving to do. We seem to play well in parts of the game and then we relax."
Westside coach Carl Serrani said he saw some good things and some not-so-good things against Proctor.
"I'm happy with the way we're playing defense," he said, "but I'm not really happy with the offense. We're not finishing. We're missing easy shots. In a close game, that could really hurt us."
Proctor coach Chris Hughes said he thought his girls "didn't quit," particularly in the second half. But his young team is going to have to learn to deal with pressure defense if they want to be competitive, he said.
"They haven't seen this kind of pressure and against a great team," he said. "We've got to go through this experience and learn from it."
West Rutland made it 31-15 after Pease hit a jumper in the paint late in the third period, but Elrick hit a 3-pointer just before the period ended to make the score 31-18 after three.
The game wasn't anywhere as close at the final score indicates. Westside had a 40-22 lead with two minutes left. But Elrick went on an incredible tear at the end, scoring nine points in the last 1:25 of the game.
Proctor finished with 31 turnovers to 21 for West Rutland. The Phantoms dominated the boards, finishing with a 31-21 edge.
That's one big area that concerns Serrani.
"We have no size. We've got to work for better position for rebounds," he said.
dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com