Abbotsford falls to ranked Royals squad
The Falcons girls basketball team fell just short of knocking off the Marawood-South leading Assumption Royals on the road last Thursday night. Abbotsford was just a single shot away from dealing the sixth-ranked team in Division 5 their fourth loss of the season, but the Royals used a late-game push to squeak out a 4341 victory.
The visiting Falcons quickly found that they could use their athleticism to their advantage down in the paint. With neither team holding much of an edge when it comes to height, Abbotsford was able to work their way through Assumption’s press and zone defense to find opportunities on the blocks.
An early 8-4 lead for Abbotsford following a basket from Calley Ruesch was the largest for either team in the half. The Royals were still able to create pressure and force turnovers, using outside shooting and a number of free throw attempts at the end of the half to keep pace with the Falcons. Thanks largely to those conversions from the free throw line, Assumption was able to enter the locker room with the upperhand, up 25-22.
But the Falcons had not counted themselves out of the contest; far from it. A basket from Briseida Escalera tied the game at 27-27 and two possessions later, Ruesch put the Falcons back on top 2927. These baskets were part of a 14-2 run for Abbotsford, who went from being down at the half to leading the Royals 37-29. The eight-point margin was by far the largest of the game and with eight minutes remaining, the Falcons had put themselves into excellent position to pull off the upset.
Assumption had not given up yet either, however, and the Royals’ defense tightened in the final quarter of play. Abbotsford was forced into a number of empty possessions, scoring only four points over the last eight minutes. Fouls also started to pile up for the Falcons and the home team seized the opportunity, scoring seven of their final nine points from the free throw line and allowing them to retake the lead. A late field goal from Ruesch cut the lead to 42-41, but the Falcons were unable to find another basket on their final possession and the Royals claimed the 43-41 win.
Abbotsford dominated the stat sheets in a number of different categories. They outshot the Royals from the field, putting up a 43 percent field goal percentage compared to just 32 percent for Assumption. The rebounding was even more lopsided, with Abbotsford coming down with 36 boards compared to their opponent’s 14. Fifteen Abbotsford assists also outpaced the Royal’s five.
Given these statistics, one might have expected the Falcons to come out with a comfortable victory. But turnovers and fouls turned out to be the equalizer for Assumption. The Royals only surrendered 13 turnovers while forcing 28 from Abbotsford. Meanwhile, they shot 20 free throws, making 14 of them and keeping the Falcons to just six attempts from the charity stripe.
Ruesch led the Falcons in scoring, going 7-10 from the field and putting up 14 points. Sydney Falteisek had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for the Falcons and Brissa Diaz had seven points and two assists. Sommer Brodhagen had four points and a team high five assists and Escalera, McKinely Klabon and Azul Diaz each had two points. Escalera also had double digit rebounds, pulling down 11.
The Falcons will have their final regular season game at home this Thursday against the leader of the Marawood-North conference, Phillips. The Loggers are currently undefeated in the Marawood- North. The game is to start at 7:15 p.m.
Having already been given a fifth-seed, Abbotsford will start their postseason run with a round one matchup with the 12th-seeded Spencer Rockets at home. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:00 p.m. and will be a rematch of a late December clash between the two clubs. In their first meeting, Falteisek put up 28 points and had a triple double to help give Abbotsford the 67-43 victory on the road.
