The Lady Centurions' slow start and Ballard's 5-point lead evaporated after halftime as CAL's Allison Karst scored 22 of her 27 points in the 2nd half. CAL advances to the quarterfinals of the LIT on Friday to face Highlands.

 

As usual, I will provide stats and summaries later as time allows unless someone beats me to it.

CAL 46 Ballard 37

 

In a case of role reversal, the Lady Centurions went into hibernation during the 1st half of the opening round game of the LIT, allowing Ballard’s Lady Bruins to claw their way to 3-point halftime lead. Center Jaylan Bodiford asserted herself in the paint with 8 points and 9 rebounds. With little movement on the offensive end, CAL’s sleepwalking rhythm resulted in 13 turnovers and only two points in the 2nd quarter. Because Ballard missed open shot opportunities, the 19-16 score wasn’t indicative of their control of the game.

 

Coach Rice communicated clearly during the intermission with his threat of an all-night lecture on at least two topics: getting in the passing lanes on defense and moving without the ball on offense. Senior Allison Karst responded immediately: stealing the ball, finding open shots, and scoring 12 of the team’s 13 points in the 3rd quarter. Her teammates followed her lead, applying defensive pressure as Antonita Slaughter clamped down on the Lady Bruins’ inside game. Karst continued her scoring spree, finishing with 27 points (22 in the 2nd half). When she did miss, Slaughter’s rebounds led to putbacks or running the clock as the Lady Centurions snared another win and forced the Lady Bruins to await a future battle.

 

Sideline notes

--CAL used defense to jump-start the offense in the 2nd half. After Ballard’s Bodiford scored 8 points in the opening half, Slaughter didn’t allow her a single point after the break, maintaining a defensive stance with arms up instead of trying to jump and block every shot.

--CAL protected the ball much better in the 2nd half, resulting in only a few turnovers in contrast to the 13 errors of the 1st half. Improved ball handling led to shots in the paint, Lady Bruin fouls, and free throw opportunities.

--Ballard has athleticism and talent, but lacked efficient execution of an inside-outside passing game in the 2nd half to provide them with better shots. Nicole Heitz and Larissa Stafford did score 11 apiece, but the team only made about 25% for the game, including 3-point range. Of course, part of this may have been caused by CAL’s increased defensive effort.

--Offensive bench production provided only two points by Kate Joss with 44 of the team’s 46 points scored by Karst, China Dow, and Slaughter, a statistic that should be remedied by more scoring balance in CAL’s better outings.

 

Game scoring by quarter

CAL 14 2 13 17 46

Ballard 13 6 7 11 37

 

Player statistics

CAL: Allison Karst (27 points), China Dow (10 points, 9 rebounds), Antonita Slaughter (7 points, 12 rebounds), Kate Joss (2 points)

Ballard: Nicole Heitz (11 points), Larissa Stafford (11 points), Jaylan Bodiford (8 points), Vonda Thomas (3 points), Ciera Woods (2 points), Bryelle Bonds (2 points)