This was on it's way to the century mark but coached with class by Stowers. Wainscott-Brown-Ponzer-Pace all sat out from the 3:00 min mark in the 3rd for the rest of the game. SK was up by as much as 30 at one point.

 

Wainscott 17

Brown 14

Ponzer 11

 

17 - 12 SK 1st

47 - 24 SK Half

86 - 76 SK Final

 

 

Must have been 70 penalties called. No Joke!

 

Congrats Lady Pioneers!

SK had 11 fouls called on them in the 4th quarter to OC 4 fouls. There was a total of 54 fouls the whole game I believe, 33 on SK 21 called on OC. Refs were TERRIBLE!!!

Simon doesn't want the game called tight. They hand check as much as any team in the state. Anytime officials call it, they could be in trouble.

Why did the OC coach keep calling timeouts when the game was out of hand? Keeping his starters in and pressing the 4th quarter, with the starters still in. Would be in the back of my mind if we played again this season.

Simon doesn't want the game called tight. They hand check as much as any team in the state. Anytime officials call it, they could be in trouble.

 

Well, to their benefit none of the starters were in foul trouble. Ponzer might have went to 3 late in the fourth when SK needed her into guide the JV for a short stretch. They have a tough 4 game 4 day stretch coming up this weekend. Hope they stay hot and healthy.

 

They all looked like they were having fun playing basketball tonight. A little relief from the last two heart stoppers. :clap:

Why did the OC coach keep calling timeouts when the game was out of hand? Keeping his starters in and pressing the 4th quarter, with the starters still in. Would be in the back of my mind if we played again this season.

 

Didn't get that either; when Stowers put his first group on the bench, you would have thought the other coach would have done the same. I was glad to see Stowers resisted putting the first group back in although the foul attrition kind of took care of that to a certain extent. Notice though that SK took a few TO's down the stretch...hmmmm.

 

How many coaches has Oldham gone through in the last 5 years?

Coach Mullins is the 3rd coach in the last 3 years. His style is a pressing up and down game trying to wear down opponents. I would think the SK shot a lot in transition.

Why did the OC coach keep calling timeouts when the game was out of hand? Keeping his starters in and pressing the 4th quarter, with the starters still in. Would be in the back of my mind if we played again this season.

 

Actually, "starters" is kind of an archaic word in regards to OC. They go about 10-12 deep all the time, and the subs are in nearly as much as the starters. And in the fourth quarter, there were actually a lot of subs playing.

 

Also, Oldham County is extremely young and the whole team is learning a new system under a new coach. The one starter who played the entire fourth period was sophomore PG Emily Melton. At this point in time, she needs all the experience she can get as she learns her PG role.

 

For example, of the six players who saw the most time in the fourth for OC:

 

- Jessica Leanhart - starter, but a freshman

- Emily Melton (starter - but a sophomore PG)

- Ashley McMurtrey (8th grader - sub)

- Shelby Rush (sophomore sub).

- Brooke Leanhart (the only starter on the court with any experience)

- Katie Beaven (sub)

 

The SK JV team that was on the court during the 4th period was older/bigger than the "varsity" OC team that was on the court...

 

Note that Oldham played 10 players...

 

Tonight's game showed that Oldham does miss senior Emily Lape, their leading scorer and rebounder from last year who did very well against SK in last year's regional SF.

 

For any team to advance far in March, they have to instill a couple of things into their players during the season. They have to develop a "no quit" attitude... the kind of attitude when games are "out of hand" that produce miracle finishes such as the UK comeback at LSU years ago. The first time a coach signals to his team that a game isn't winnable - at the beginning of the fourth quarter - is the time he loses automatically when he calls on his team for a "gut-check" rally in a game he can still win.

 

They also have to establish their system with their team. Oldham's system is to press, press, press - (surprising that an SK fan would take umbrage at this.) Oldham ran a lot of kids onto the court tonight towards that end - even in the first half when the game was close. But Mullins believes in throwing his team "into the fire", and this was a valuable learning experience for the younger Lady Colonels.

 

Can't imagine Coach Stowers took offense at this. 1) He knows Mullins can't afford to waste a minute of game time teaching; and 2) he has to do the same thing, and the SK subs definitely needed the opportunity to work against the press.

 

SK played an excellent ballgame; Wainscott and Ponzer are well, Wainscott and Ponzer. Hats off to both. It's so hard to press those two because they pass and dribble so well, and they keep their heads up. Their passing is superb. I was also very impressed with Brown and Pace inside, though, as both were VERY GOOD on the boards.

Didn't get that either; when Stowers put his first group on the bench, you would have thought the other coach would have done the same. I was glad to see Stowers resisted putting the first group back in although the foul attrition kind of took care of that to a certain extent. Notice though that SK took a few TO's down the stretch...hmmmm.

 

 

Both coaches were doing what they needed to do to teach.

Tonight's game showed that Oldham does miss senior Emily Lape, their leading scorer and rebounder from last year who did very well against SK in last year's regional SF.

 

Where is Lape? I didn't see her name in the linescore.

She did not make the trip to SK.

SK had 11 fouls called on them in the 4th quarter to OC 4 fouls. There was a total of 54 fouls the whole game I believe, 33 on SK 21 called on OC. Refs were TERRIBLE!!!

 

Refs actually missed a lot in this game, but I think they were pretty evenhanded. They really could have called a lot more, but neither team appeared to gain an advantage...

 

We watched one girl - doesn't matter who it was or which team - who on at least two occasions was dribbling downcourt and caught the ball with both hands while dribbling, and they didn't call double-dribble either time. Hadn't seen that in a while - much less twice in one game. Another player pushed off with her right hand every time before launching jump shots and those weren't called either. Again, it doesn't matter who the players were or what team they were on...just saying that, despite the number of whistles, a lot was missed... (I think they got tired of blowing their whistles.:lol: )

 

But nobody should have been surprised at the number of fouls. Both are very physical teams. As such, FT shooting was a critical issue for two teams that hadn't shot FTs well so far this season. FT shooting was big in the second period when SK built its halftime lead...the Lady Pioneers hit their shots at the line and had a 12 point advantage at the break at the stripe (SK was 17 of 21 at intermission, while OC was just 5 of 11).

 

Both teams shot 23 free throws over the first three periods. The foul situation tilted in Oldham's favor in the fourth period, not surprisingly, when SK put JV players in.

 

The deciding factor in this game, however, was rebounding. SK dominated the glass, particularly on the offensive end. If SK can continue to do this, a threepeat is possible. If Oldham is to contend this year, they must get better on the glass.

Refs actually missed a lot in this game, but I think they were pretty evenhanded. They really could have called a lot more, but neither team appeared to gain an advantage...

 

.....deciding factor in this game, however, was rebounding. SK dominated the glass, particularly on the offensive end. If SK can continue to do this, a threepeat is possible. If Oldham is to contend this year, they must get better on the glass.

 

Rebounding was a challenge for SK during the first few games this season but as you mentioned above and the quote, Pace is really coming on in the post role. She didn't get as many varsity minutes last year because she was playing behind Smith and one of the Figgins twins. However, as she keeps getting experience this year, I look for her to be a huge contributor as the season wears on since she is by far the tallest on the team and can play physical.

Actually, "starters" is kind of an archaic word in regards to OC. They go about 10-12 deep all the time, and the subs are in nearly as much as the starters. And in the fourth quarter, there were actually a lot of subs playing.

 

Also, Oldham County is extremely young and the whole team is learning a new system under a new coach. The one starter who played the entire fourth period was sophomore PG Emily Melton. At this point in time, she needs all the experience she can get as she learns her PG role.

 

For example, of the six players who saw the most time in the fourth for OC:

 

- Jessica Leanhart - starter, but a freshman

- Emily Melton (starter - but a sophomore PG)

- Ashley McMurtrey (8th grader - sub)

- Shelby Rush (sophomore sub).

- Brooke Leanhart (the only starter on the court with any experience)

- Katie Beaven (sub)

 

The SK JV team that was on the court during the 4th period was older/bigger than the "varsity" OC team that was on the court...

 

Note that Oldham played 10 players...

 

Tonight's game showed that Oldham does miss senior Emily Lape, their leading scorer and rebounder from last year who did very well against SK in last year's regional SF.

 

For any team to advance far in March, they have to instill a couple of things into their players during the season. They have to develop a "no quit" attitude... the kind of attitude when games are "out of hand" that produce miracle finishes such as the UK comeback at LSU years ago. The first time a coach signals to his team that a game isn't winnable - at the beginning of the fourth quarter - is the time he loses automatically when he calls on his team for a "gut-check" rally in a game he can still win.

 

They also have to establish their system with their team. Oldham's system is to press, press, press - (surprising that an SK fan would take umbrage at this.) Oldham ran a lot of kids onto the court tonight towards that end - even in the first half when the game was close. But Mullins believes in throwing his team "into the fire", and this was a valuable learning experience for the younger Lady Colonels.

 

Can't imagine Coach Stowers took offense at this. 1) He knows Mullins can't afford to waste a minute of game time teaching; and 2) he has to do the same thing, and the SK subs definitely needed the opportunity to work against the press.

 

SK played an excellent ballgame; Wainscott and Ponzer are well, Wainscott and Ponzer. Hats off to both. It's so hard to press those two because they pass and dribble so well, and they keep their heads up. Their passing is superb. I was also very impressed with Brown and Pace inside, though, as both were VERY GOOD on the boards.

 

If PACE can be strong and continue to improve she opens a big door inside for BROWN. Last night they all played very well together. Stephenson would be a great asset down the long run. WAINSCOTT-PONZER-BROWN-STEPHENSON can flat out run the floor with anyone. The four together can create a lot of damage. BROWN - WAINSCOTT - PONZER have sat very very few minutes this season.

I was very impressed with the play of Pace and Brown. The inside was a bit of a question mark for SK coming into the season. Yes, it hurt OC that their leading returning rebounder from last year wasn't on the court, but OC has decent size all around (except for Melton, the 5-6 PG) and wasn't able to bring it to bear all night against SK.

 

I think the biggest question mark for SK right now is this: If they get into foul trouble, can the bench carry much of the load? With the aggressive "hands-on" style of defense Stowers likes, foul trouble is always a potential problem. This appears to still be the question...but the starting unit is solid.