Abby shows grit and growth against Bucs
The Abbotsford Falcons girls basketball team has come a long way since their first practice. The results of their hard work was evident last week Thursday when the Falcons travelled to Prentice to take on the Buccaneers in a battle between Marawood - North rivals.
In their first meeting with Prentice (114; 8-4 MNC), the Buccaneers had trounced the Falcons in Abbotsford, racing out to an early lead and never looking back as the Bucs left Abby with an 82-42 victory.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the next meeting between the two teams might be a similar score line, given that this time around Prentice was enjoying home field advantage.
And yet, the Buccaneers found themselves in a dog fight, challenged every step of the way by an Abbotsford team that simply refused to go away.
The Falcons relied on the deep ball to stay neck and neck with the second ranked team in the Marawood - North, hitting three after three in the first half.
Catie Clement kept the Falcons hopes alive with absolutely scintillating shooting from Down Town, connecting on five triples, four alone in the first half, to help Abby stay with Prentice’s inside game.
Clement wasn’t the only Falcon knocking down shots from three point land. Bridgett Pogodzinski and Jayden Falteisek each canned a three, and Alea Graff added a basket, as Abby scored 24 points in the first frame.
Not only was the Falcons’ offense clicking, but so was the defense. In their first meeting back in Decemeber, the Buccaneers saw four different players score in double figures. That would not be the case on Thursday night as only two Buccaneers scored more than 10 points.
Kaelyn Isaacsaon scored 22 points to lead Prentice, but Kiandra Hartman, who had 22 points in the first meeting, was held to two points in the first half, and eight points for the entire game.
The Falcons did the same to McKenna Isaacson, allowing her to score just ten points, versus the 17 she scored during their previous conference encounter.
The Falcons did not allow a single player from Prentice to score more than seven points in the first half, and Prentice found the score knotted at 24-24.
Clement’s hot hand continued in the second half, with the junior dropping in another trey. She was not the only Falcon to scorch the nets, as fellow junior Mya Ruesch who got things going in the second half. Ruesch found an offensive spark in the second stanza, and went off for seven points.
ABBY GB Graff, Falteisek and Pogodzinski continued to score, but you can only keep a good team down for so long, and eventually the Buccaneers, aided by their home crowd and Abby turnovers, clawed past the Falcons, with Kaelyn Isaacson scoring 18 of her 22 points in the second half.
Hartmann added six points, along with seven points from Serena Moore, who had just two points in the first half. The Buccaneers would go on to outscore the Falcons 36-24 in the last half for a 60-48 victory that drops Abby to 3-13 on the year, and 2-9 in league play.
Clement led the Falcons, nearly notching a double-double, as she finished with a season high of 21 points, and added a team high nine rebounds.
Falteisek and Pogodzinski both scored eight points apiece, with Faltiesek pulling down eight rebounds. Ruesch scored seven points and dished out a team high six assists.
Graff rounded things out with four points, and distributed the ball well, handing out five assists, along with a team high four steals.
The Falcons will have another opportunity to grow later this week, with a non-conference tilt with Owen- Withee scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6. Tip-off will be at 7:15 p.m.
