Bracken County at Pendleton County : Predictions

[Big Daddy Bear]

Pendleton struggling right now without the full time services of Natalie Kelsch due to health reasons. Bracken coming off a loss in the All A finals. Both teams have had Jekyll and Hyde seasons at various points. Whose your pick in this Thursday night matchup ?

[Mr. Athletics]

I don't see Pendleton losing this one at home.

[*Jeanie*]

Pendleton by 15

[ladiesbballcoach]

Boy, you hit the nail right on the head. Jekyl and Hyde season for Pendleton. They show up with fire and aggresiveness and beat Grant convincingly and then yesterday act like they don't want to be in the gym, losing to Powell County.

 

Would like to pick Pendleton but until the key leaders of Pendleton decide to show up every game, playing SMART and hard, you don't know which team will show up.

 

That said, Pendleton's non team has showed up more often than it should have and I go with Bracken by 5.

[Pcladycatdad]

This will be a close one but Pendleton by 3. The girls did look alittle out of it but I will say that I think playing Natalie in the game with Powell was a mistake, you could tell she was not ready to return just yet, a step slow in the game. Then Alison Godman was under the weather so we still were struggling a bit. The King girl looked good in her second start 8 pts. over 10 rebonds really played hard all night, have seen good improvement in her this year nice to see from the soph. The Cats will come ready to play the Bears.

[SkipToMyLou]

I think Pendleton takes it at home by 6

[OneCat]

I will take Bracken Co. by 3.

[ladiesbballcoach]

I don't think the use of Kelsch was a mistake. Pendleton was already down and not playing well before Kelsch took off her warmup.

 

She wasn't thrown out there for long stretches but two short periods. Doctor cleared her to play. How do you not use your leading scorer and rebounder for short periods if the doctor says it is okay? I wouldn't want to be the coach that says they know more than the doctor on whether the girl is fit to play or not.

[playmaker 3]

Bracken needs to get out of that 2-3 zone and press a little bit. Bracken needs to shoot more instead of pass the ball in the middle all the time.

[U Reach I Teach]

Bracken needs to get out of that 2-3 zone and press a little bit. Bracken needs to shoot more instead of pass the ball in the middle all the time.

 

There are a lot of great coaches in the stands!

[Pcladycatdad]

I don't think being down 6 points in the 3rd quarter is out of the game, at the time Kelsch went into the game the Cats had scored and were holding Powell then they took it down low and scored 3 times on her, I not blaming her but I just don't think she was ready for that. Nat had no practice time in over a week and just coming off of the injury/illness I don't think she was the best choice at that time. I know she is leading in both stats but she didn"t score and had 3 or 4 turnovers while she was in there. I would like to see this team win more than one game in a row and I think this one was a game we could of won.

[ladiesbballcoach]

I don't think being down 6 points in the 3rd quarter is out of the game, at the time Kelsch went into the game the Cats had scored and were holding Powell then they took it down low and scored 3 times on her, I not blaming her but I just don't think she was ready for that. Nat had no practice time in over a week and just coming off of the injury/illness I don't think she was the best choice at that time. I know she is leading in both stats but she didn"t score and had 3 or 4 turnovers while she was in there. I would like to see this team win more than one game in a row and I think this one was a game we could of won.

 

In hindsight, it didn't work.

 

But at the time of the game, with Powell taking momentum of the game and the doctor has said that Nat was cleared to play and Alison not feeling well, I fully understand the decision to put her in the game.

 

If she would have came in and hit a couple of baskets and grabbed a couple rebounds, it would have been a key coaching decision to put her in.

 

I do agree with you that Beth King has really stepped up her game. The Ladycats have a nice trio of post players, when healthy, in Kelsch, Godman and King. With those 3 getting the lion's share of the minutes and Erica Herald and Kelsie Pugh helping out in case of foul trouble, Pendleton has some nice depth at post.

[ladiesbballcoach]

The Cats will come ready to play the Bears.

 

Despite my earlier prediction, if the Cats do this, I think they win the game.

[Pcladycatdad]

I know we can play what ifs and I know Nat does not want to sit, that is when a Coach has to make the hard choices which most are not meant with approval of parents or fans. There is a lot of talent on this team and when they play as a team it shows as with Grant Co., and when they play as "I" it shows. Together they can be a force come Districts and Regionals apart they can and have been beat. They should strive for more winning and less whining.

[ladiesbballcoach]

I know we can play what ifs and I know Nat does not want to sit, that is when a Coach has to make the hard choices which most are not meant with approval of parents or fans. There is a lot of talent on this team and when they play as a team it shows as with Grant Co., and when they play as "I" it shows. Together they can be a force come Districts and Regionals apart they can and have been beat. They should strive for more winning and less whining.

 

I agree that a coach has to make the right choice which can be hard and unpopular. And the right and hard choice was to play Natalie. The others had been given opportunities that night and had not responded. If they had, Nat wouldn't have come off the bench.

 

Surely you are not saying that the 3-4 minutes of the 2nd half that she played was the reason they lost to Powell County?

 

And I 100% agree with your last statement.