|
|
|
The Truman girls basketball team started fast and never took its foot off the gas pedal against Raytown South in Tuesday’s Class 5 District 13 opener at Blue Springs South High School.
The third-seeded Patriots picked apart Ray-South’s press and zone defense and cleaned up the glass to earn a 62-32 victory, their 20th win in their last 21 games. They’ll take a 21-4 record into Thursday’s semifinal against second-seeded Lee’s Summit North.
“We’d played them before, so we worked on our zone offense a lot,” said sophomore Rebecca Jonas, who led the Patriots with 18 points and nine rebounds. “We knew how to break it down. Moving the ball real quick was key.”
Truman made its first four shots, as Kayla Harrell and Ashley Guenther fed each other for baskets down low, alternating with 3-pointers by Brooke Parton and Abby Hix. Parton added a split of two free throws and Jonas scored down low as the Patriots opened a 13-2 lead before the first period as half over.
With the 6-foot Jonas, Guenther (nine points) and sub Darci Kern (eight points), Truman forged an excellent high-low attack against Ray-South, which ended its season at 8-17.
“I think the kids do a good job of handling the ball against a zone defense and finding gaps,” Truman coach Steve Cassity said. “We were able to find a Rebecca in the post a couple times, and that helped. When you hit those outside shots, it stretches the defense and creates some openings.”
The Patriots led 20-8 at the first stop, scored the first seven points of the second and led 37-15 at halftime.
Jonas and Hix (10 points) split the scoring in a 13-2 run to start the third quarter, and Truman took a 56-19 lead into the fourth, during which Cassity emptied the bench.
Breauna Carter’s nine points and Karnesha Brown’s eight rebounds paced Ray-South.
“They’re a very good team and present a lot of matchup problems,” Cardinals coach Aaron Ihm said of the Patriots. “They have two good posts that can pass the ball and shoot, and they have good guards. They can not only throw the ball over top of you, but shoot it over the top.
“Basically we hoped they’d have an off night shooting and we could plug gaps off the dribble.”
Instead, Truman rendered that plan ineffective by making 7 of 11 shots in the first quarter, 15 of 25 in the first half and 25 of 53 overall. The Patriots also nearly doubled the Cardinals in rebounds (47-24), as Guenther matched Jonas’ nine boards and Kern and fellow sub Ashley McKinney added six apiece.
“I thought we went to the glass real well,” Cassity said. “We didn’t give up many offensive rebounds, and I thought our rebounding led to some fast breaks.”
The Truman girls basketball team started fast and never took its foot off the gas pedal against Raytown South in Tuesday’s Class 5 District 13 opener at Blue Springs South High School.
The third-seeded Patriots picked apart Ray-South’s press and zone defense and cleaned up the glass to earn a 62-32 victory, their 20th win in their last 21 games. They’ll take a 21-4 record into Thursday’s semifinal against second-seeded Lee’s Summit North.
“We’d played them before, so we worked on our zone offense a lot,” said sophomore Rebecca Jonas, who led the Patriots with 18 points and nine rebounds. “We knew how to break it down. Moving the ball real quick was key.”
Truman made its first four shots, as Kayla Harrell and Ashley Guenther fed each other for baskets down low, alternating with 3-pointers by Brooke Parton and Abby Hix. Parton added a split of two free throws and Jonas scored down low as the Patriots opened a 13-2 lead before the first period as half over.
With the 6-foot Jonas, Guenther (nine points) and sub Darci Kern (eight points), Truman forged an excellent high-low attack against Ray-South, which ended its season at 8-17.
“I think the kids do a good job of handling the ball against a zone defense and finding gaps,” Truman coach Steve Cassity said. “We were able to find a Rebecca in the post a couple times, and that helped. When you hit those outside shots, it stretches the defense and creates some openings.”
The Patriots led 20-8 at the first stop, scored the first seven points of the second and led 37-15 at halftime.
Jonas and Hix (10 points) split the scoring in a 13-2 run to start the third quarter, and Truman took a 56-19 lead into the fourth, during which Cassity emptied the bench.
Breauna Carter’s nine points and Karnesha Brown’s eight rebounds paced Ray-South.
“They’re a very good team and present a lot of matchup problems,” Cardinals coach Aaron Ihm said of the Patriots. “They have two good posts that can pass the ball and shoot, and they have good guards. They can not only throw the ball over top of you, but shoot it over the top.
“Basically we hoped they’d have an off night shooting and we could plug gaps off the dribble.”
Instead, Truman rendered that plan ineffective by making 7 of 11 shots in the first quarter, 15 of 25 in the first half and 25 of 53 overall. The Patriots also nearly doubled the Cardinals in rebounds (47-24), as Guenther matched Jonas’ nine boards and Kern and fellow sub Ashley McKinney added six apiece.
“I thought we went to the glass real well,” Cassity said. “We didn’t give up many offensive rebounds, and I thought our rebounding led to some fast breaks.”
