Abbotsford (OnFocus) – Abbotsford and Owen-Withee opened the 2020-21 Girls Basketball season Monday evening a week later than originally expected, and the advantage was all Abbotsford throughout. Abby took a 36-18 halftime lead and nearly doubled up O-W in the end, winning the nonconference game 70-36.
The 18 point halftime lead quickly grew to 29 with the Falcons rolling off 11 points to begin the second half.
“We were focused on looking to score any time we had the ball. We’ve been practicing pushing the ball up the court because we knew if we did, we could score in transition,” said senior Catie Clement.
Sydney Falteisek had 13 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Falcons.
Abbotsford three other players score in double figures, with Alea Graff scoring 12, Clement 10, and Mya Ruesch adding 10 points and 5 rebounds.
“I was happy to see every player on the team step up offensively. Every player scored and we had four players with 10+ points. Defensively, we had 29 steals and that led to many quick score opportunities. That was our strategy going into last night’s game and the girls pulled it off well,” said Abbotsford Head Coach Ally Meserole.
Grace Bottlemy had 12 points to lead Owen-Withee.
“The key for us on defense was having good rotation and having one girl up to put pressure on the ball. That forced a lot of turnovers and gave the rest of the defense time to get back,” Clement added.
Now that the Falcons have one game under their belts, Meserole noted practice this week will be focusing on some areas that need shoring up.
“We still need to work on our shooting accuracy, especially free throws, and our defense against post-players. We had 19 fouls and put Owen-Withee on the line too many times. That could have changed the game had their free throws been falling,” Meserole explained.
Owen-Withee(36) Reina Arndt 7, Dakota Shelton 7, Lexi Nernberger 5, Makayla Gorka 3, Grace Bottlemy 12, Amelia Petke 2
Abbotsford(70) Bridgett Pogodzinski 5, Brissa Diaz 4, Mya Ruesh 10, Catie Clement 10, Marisol Garcia 2, Vanessa Maganda 2, Adriana Fuentes 5, Briseida Escalera 3, Sydney Falteisek 13, Sommer Brodhagen 4, Alea Graff 12
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
