Abby defeats Prentice, bounced by Greenwood
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford girls basketball team went 1-1 over the last week, picking up a conference win over Prentice before falling to the Greenwood Indians. The Falcons are now 4-12 this season and hold a 4-7 record in the Marawood conference.
Greenwood, 50-23
A tough first half for the visiting Falcons spelled their downfall on Monday night when they traveled to Greenwood for a non-conference game. The Indians' tough defense, both in the full court press and in their half court sets, stifled Abbotsford’s attack and allowed the home team to walk away with a comfortable victory while not having their best offensive performance.
The oppressive nature of Greenwood’s scheme flummoxed the Falcons early. Turnovers plagued the team as they struggled to find any gaps to take advantage of, committing 20 in the first half. Even when Abbotsford managed to break down the Indians’ press, converting those opportunities into points escaped the squad for most of the opening period.
While the Falcons own defensive efforts kept the contest from getting too out of hand, allowing just 13 points over the first 12 minutes of play, they were also held scoreless over that same stretch. Azalea Atkinson finally got Abbotsford on the board with a putback after an offensive rebound, but the Indians rattled off 13 straight points over the next five minutes to take a 26-2 lead. A pair of free throws from Nevaeh Treankler doubled the visitors’ point total before halftime, but they found themselves in a 28-4 deficit at halftime.
Asia Atkinson dialed in two corner jumpers to start the scoring for the Falcons in the second period, Greenwood maintained their significant advantage. A three from Campbell Brodhagen triggered an 11-2 run for the Falcons over the middle minutes of the second half, but even after back-toback baskets for Asia Atkinson capped off the run, Abbotsford still found themselves down 39-20.
The Indians eventually curbed the resurgence from the visitors and outscored them 11-3 down the stretch.
“The girls, as always, played hard when in the game, but unfortunately we were not able to keep pace with a very physical Greenwood squad that plays in a conference known for an aggressive style of play,” head coach Larry Lecheler said. “We were out-muscled and out-matched inside for virtually the whole game, and offensively their pressure defense made it difficult for our young ladies to create many good shots. As we head down the home stretch over the next few weeks, we will work on staying positive as we continue to try and correct these issues.”
Asia Atkinson led Abbotsford in scoring, putting up nine points while shooting 4-for-9 from the field and collecting four rebounds. Azalea Atkinson added another seven points and five rebounds and Treankler and Brodhagen both had three points each. Riley Podevels rounded out the scorers with one point and Azul Diaz led the team with two assists and six steals.
Prentice, 40-35
The Falcons grabbed their fourth win of the season last Tuesday evening, coming out on top of a defensive battle on the road against Prentice. Abbotsford held their Marawood-North rivals to making just 28 percent of their shots and forced 19 steals as they defeated the Buccaneers 40-35.
After falling 49-38 at home earlier in the season, the Falcons had the opportunity to turn the tables on their familiar conference foes. While some points were left on the board as Abbotsford struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 3-for-16, they made up for it by shooting better than the Buccaneers from the field and playing solid defense.
A closely contested game, neither team held a lead larger than seven points all evening. Despite that, Abbotsford still found themselves ahead for most of the game, trailing for only a handful of possessions in the first period and leading for the entirety of the second.
Back-to-back baskets for Azalea Atkinson gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead right out of the gates. While Prentice managed to tie the game soon after, the visitors scored on three of their next four possessions, getting a pair of field goals from Celia Schindler and another from Jackie Soto to pull ahead.
Momentum seesawed back to the Buccaneers as a 7-0 run briefly gave them the lead, but Riley Podevels put the Falcons back on top with an offensive rebound and put back. Twice more, Prentice managed to sneak ahead, but each time the Falcons came up with an immediate answer. After a three briefly gave the home team a 17-14 lead, Asia Atkinson responded with a three of her own on Abbotsford’s next possession.
The shot spurred a 9-0 run for the visitors as Campbell Brodhagen followed up her teammate’s three-pointer with two herself.
The Falcons never trailed following the first make from Brodhagen. A basket from Nevaeh Treankler on Abbotsford’s first possession of the second half gave them their biggest lead of the game at 29-22, and while Prentice managed to pull back within one after an 8-2 sequence, a tough shot for Asia Atkinson in the paint slowed the Buccaneers’ best push of the second period.
Each team was held to just 13 points over the final 18 minutes of the game, a defensive scrum that seemed to suit the leading Falcons just fine. A pair of makes for the home team had them back within a possession with just over a minute to play, but a steal from Azul Diaz turned into a fast break basket for Podevels and slammed the door shut on the Buccaneers.
“Our girls did an excellent job of carrying out our game plan of playing a tougher brand of help defense, especially as it related to shutting down their most dominate player,” Lecheler said following the game. “Combine this with the girls being able to cut our turnover average in half resulted in this nice team win.”
Eight players scored for Abbotsford in the win as the offense spread the ball around. Schindler and Brodhagen coled the team with eight points each, Azalea Atkinson and Podevels both had seven points and Asia Atkinson finished with five points. Soto and Treankler both had two points and Diaz rounded out the scoring with one point. All nine players who saw the court on Tuesday also had at least one steal, Podevels and Marilyn Hammock leading the way with three each. Asia Atkinson recorded seven rebounds to lead the Falcons in boards and Azalea Atkinson and Podevels both finished with five apiece
DRIVING TO THE BASKET - Nevaeh Treankler splits a pair of Greenwood players as she dribbles past them during the first half of Abbotsford’s game against the Indians.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SCANNING THE FLOOR - Jackie Soto looks for a teammate to get open before passing against Greenwood’s press defense on Monday night.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
