Indian Creek no match for Newark

Indian Creek's Stevie Bozarth (left) drives to the basket while Newark's Laura McNanna plsyd defense.
(Donnell Collins/For the Beacon News)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

NEWARK -- For Indian Creek's first Little Ten Conference girls basketball game, drawing last year's Class A state runner-up was a daunting task.

The Timberwolves did what they could against Newark, but it was apparent early in the 70-35 loss that the game was out of hand.

There's not much the Timberwolves could have done to slow the bigger and quicker Lady Norsemen. Coach Paul Muchmore tried a few different tactics, hoping to trade two point baskets for 3-pointers and use a full court press to stay out of the half-court game.

"There were a few times we did really well where we got the ball and, bang, we got a 3(-pointer)," Muchmore said. "I knew that they would get layups and they would get rebounds."

The 3-pointers came from Indian Creek's leading scorer, Lindsay Richardson, who finished the night with 18 points against one of the league's better defenses. She hit three from behind the arc, but was a little off at the foul-line, converting just 5 of 9 opportunities.

"I wanted to do better free-throw wise," Richardson said. "But our goal was to just run-and-gun and get as many layups as we could."

Richardson has a target on her back and both coaches know she's a key to both winning and being able to beat Indian Creek.

"We did the best we could trying to put three or four different girls on her, trying to switch off and on," Newark coach Dale Skelton said.

Overall, the Timberwolves shot just 9-of-20 from the free-throw line, but the 20 attempts was a positive sign.

"We are trying to spread it out on offense and drive and kick out," Muchmore said. "But we struggled with free throws at the end of the first half."

Defensively, Indian Creek played a full court press and tried to get turnovers and keep the pressure high.

Muchmore was also happy with it at times, "The pace was want we wanted."

It worked well for the most part as many points for Newark came on second, third and even fourth opportunities as it dominated the boards. No one Lady Norsemen was in double digit for rebounds because it was a solid all-around effort.

"We have to be a lot sharper and a lot crisper (against the press) because we are not always going to get this kind of rebounding," Skelton said.

For Newark, three scorers were in double-digits, and all three had at least seven rebounds. Laura Johnson led the team with 17 points and eight boards. Sam Akre and Tara Bernard each had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Even though the game was never really close, it was the third quarter when the Lady Norsemen pulled away with a 16-3 run.