Mason County 55 Holmes 44

[Vito Corleone]

Final from the Fieldhouse

[Bengal Maniac]

Solid win for the Lady Royals.

[paNDA]

dang good team. Saw them Saturday

[sumoroyal]

MC--Littleton 3, Frodge 9, Boone 1, McNutt 18, O'Mara 18, Butler 5, Reed 1. (55)

 

Holmes--Johnson 8, Graham 9, Keith 2, Englemon 10, Stovall 13, Stowers 2. (44)

[sumoroyal]

Scored was tied at 37, when Frodge and O'Mara hit back to back three pointers as Mason Mason went on to out score Holmes 18-7 in the fourth Qtr. McNutt scored the first 8 of the game for Mason.

[maysvilleky]

I thought McNutt's defense on Englemon in the 4th quarter was the difference. When we switched McNutt to her I think her quickness and length bothered Englemon. And I think fatigue caught up with Holmes. Holmes evidently only has 5 girls that don't play JV.

 

There were college coaches in attendance last night. I saw them speaking with O'Mara, Boone, and Englemon, but I don't recall any of them speaking with McNutt. I don't understand why she is under-appreciated.

[Zonelife]

McNutt's frame plays against her if she had more muscle they would be interested. I have concerns about turnovers and how dominant #15 was from Holmes, she had several uncontested shots at the rim, the girls have to protect the paint better than that, but it's their first real game so a win is a win.

[maysvilleky]

Holmes liked to spread the floor and any time they had Mason out of shape, they did a good job of going to the rim. Englemon (#15) is a good player, as I said there was a college coach there talking with her and her mom after the game. I didn't catch what school.

 

But good win for Mason County. Their schedule is brutal this year, so as long as they don't wear down too much, they should be battle tested come district/regional time.

[RCC9]

Holmes liked to spread the floor and any time they had Mason out of shape, they did a good job of going to the rim. Englemon (#15) is a good player, as I said there was a college coach there talking with her and her mom after the game. I didn't catch what school.

 

But good win for Mason County. Their schedule is brutal this year, so as long as they don't wear down too much, they should be battle tested come district/regional time.

 

Did Mason ever go to a zone?

[Zonelife]

No zone and I don't know why with their length.

[RCC9]

No zone and I don't know why with their length.

 

And Holmes lack of outside shooting. Sounds like they didn't do too bad shooting last night, but that's not typical outside of Graham.

 

When you play Holmes, you HAVE to keep them away from the basket and you HAVE to keep them off the boards...amongst some other things. Will they make some 3's, yes maybe, but I don't think they can make enough to beat a good team. But if you don't keep them in front of you and you don't rebound, you are most likely going home with a loss. Keeping them in front of you and rebounding in a zone still isn't easy against them, but it gives you a better chance than chasing them all around the half court!

 

Mason was able to hold on and beat them. So they did what worked. But I am surprised when I hear "no zone" from teams when playing Holmes. But I get it too. A lot of coaches work on things during the season and want to push their kids into situations that they are going to need to be good at when it counts. Trying to stay in front of Holmes is really good practice if that's what you're trying to do!

 

Congrats to Mason! Two good teams!

[maysvilleky]

No zone and I don't know why with their length.

 

Yes...Mason did play a zone. Both a 2 - 3 and a 3 - 2. I think they played more zone than man to man. They just played a lot of help and match up and trapping out of it, so it looked like it was man, but they definitely were out in zone defenses.

 

Airborne if you recall Holmes held for the last shot in the first 3 quarters and Mason was in a zone then. They tried for the steal a couple of times, but they were definitely in zones then.

[RCC9]

Yes...Mason did play a zone. Both a 2 - 3 and a 3 - 2. I think they played more zone than man to man. They just played a lot of help and match up and trapping out of it, so it looked like it was man, but they definitely were out in zone defenses.

 

Airborne if you recall Holmes held for the last shot in the first 3 quarters and Mason was in a zone then. They tried for the steal a couple of times, but they were definitely in zones then.

 

Even at that, the key is to take away gaps against them. I have seen teams almost do the "one foot in the paint" strategy or "pack it in" and have some success (see Holy Cross and others). That's why they are becoming known for holding the ball. They don't want to play against a packed in zone and have held the ball for minutes at a time in several games. I've even seen them hold it in very close or tied games. They know if they can get you spread at all, they have the advantage. It's smart! In the past, they had a couple other shooters and coaches just wouldn't stick to it. This year, I have a feeling that might be one of their Achilles heals. That and the fact they aren't as deep and have to watch foul trouble, which doesn't allow to get out and pressure all over the court the entire game like they used to. This year foul trouble puts them in a very tough spot.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love watching them play. But when you're top "Dawg", you have all us "experts" trying to figure you out! lol!

[Zonelife]

Well, they should have packed it in and taken #15 out of the game early, then on offense, you should go at their best player to get them in foul trouble. Once #15 was on the bench it was the ball game.