Loyal girls hold onto lead versus Spencer in turnover-heavy game
In a game which frequently saw players scrambling for the ball, the Loyal Greyhounds eventually came out on top against the Spencer Rockets.
The two girls basketball teams faced off at Spencer last Friday, in a turnover-heavy contest with both teams struggling to find a rhythm initially. It took a minuteand-a-half for anyone to score, with Spencer sophomore Hannah Schreiner making the first basket, a free throw.
The Greyhounds got points on the board in dramatic fashion, with a corner three from junior Sheila Tellock. Spencer added another free throw from Autumn Davis. Shortly after, Tellock stole the ball and raced down the court to put in a layup, putting the Greyhounds up 5-2. For the next five minutes, Loyal stayed ahead but never too far ahead, as Spencer continued to answer back. But then Loyal gradually began to pull away, with sisters Autumn and Alyssia Zvolena scoring field goals for the Hounds. In addition to that, Loyal played aggressively on defense and limited Spencer’s ability to get inside.
“Defensively, we had a lot of energy. We need to communicate a little better and then we’ll be in good shape on defense,” said Loyal coach Mike Rueth.
By the time there were six minutes left, Loyal was up 17-8. Spencer coach Molly Attoe called a timeout and whatever she said during the timeout must have helped, because Spencer went on a seven-point run right after that. Junior Claudia Krause made two shots and sophomore Hallie Meyer made a three from up top to make it 17-15 with the Rockets only trailing by two. Then it was Loyal calling a timeout.
The Hounds reenergized and had the final say of the half, as they went on a six-point run, including Loyal freshman Addysen Wolf making both her free throws with 19 seconds left.
“Addysen is really doing a nice job for us for a freshman. She’s on and off, as far as consistency, but that is typical freshman ball. But she is obviously a valuable player of our team and had some nice plays,” said Rueth.
Loyal finished the half ahead, 23-15. An eight-point lead is not much in the sport of basketball, though, as the Rockets demonstrated when they went to work breaking down that lead in the second half. Davis and Krause made some more hoops and got Spencer within four, 25-21. Part of what allowed Spencer to get back into it was poor ball handling on Loyal’s part. A couple of passes did not reach their intended recipient. “We’re dealing with the same problems we’ve had all season — not valuing the ball and not taking care of the ball,” said Rueth. “We had lots of turnovers.” Loyal had 19 turnovers, to be exact, compared to Spencer’s 22. Despite ball control issues, once the Greyhounds settled into arhythmonoffense,their number of turnovers decreased and they started putting up points again. Five minutes into the half, Loyal senior Anna Lindner made a layup. Wolf followed that up with a 3-pointer from the corner and a jumper a little later. Alyssia Zvolena put in a free throw. Before long, the Greyhounds had stretched their lead again, this time to 13 points with 8:49 remaining. The Rockets made it so the Greyhounds could never get too comfortable though, and brought it back within seven points at 4:23 left. This time it was Olivia Nikolai to score for the Hounds, with a jump shot. She also put in a free throw. In the end, the Greyhounds maintained their lead and lengthened it even a little more to finish with the 49-31 win.
The Rockets scored one more point in the second half than they did in the first, and the Greyhounds scored three more points in the second half than in the first.
Rueth mentioned a couple of players who stood out for the Hounds.
“Alyssia did a lot for us tonight. She has the ability to defend well and play well on offense. We’d be in a lot of trouble without her,” said Rueth.
She scored 11 points on the night and had three steals. Rueth also mentioned Tellock. “Sheila was a big help on defense. Our post play is improving from game to game,” he said.
Tellock brought down five rebounds and scored nine points. Other scorers for Loyal were Wolf with 14, Autumn Zvolena with eight, Nikolai with three, Jordynn Corder with two and Lindner with two. Wolf and Autumn Zvolena led in rebounding, with six boards each.
On the Spencer side, Davis led the way with 10 points. Krause had seven points, Kaelyn Schreiner had five, Hannah Schreiner had four, Alexa Weber had three and Meyer had three.
Loyal was scheduled to play Edgar on Monday, and will face Marshfield Columbus on Friday, two tough opponents. Hannah Schreiner had the most rebounds of any Rocket, with five.
Rueth said he wasn’t as concerned about the outcome of the games as he was about “getting better in practice and improving each day.”
Going up?
Loyal basketball player Drew Stieglitz reaches for a layup during the Greyhounds’ home game against Colby Jan. 20. The Greyhounds lost to the Hornets 79-66, bringing their conference record to 3-3 on the season.
NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD/TRIBUNE PHONOGRAPH PHOTO
Anna Lindner, a senior at Loyal, leaps for a layup in the Jan. 20 game versus Spencer. The Greyhounds won the matchup 49-31.
VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO
