Newton Falls girls take care of Flashes
NEWTON FALLS — It may have taken a few minutes, but the Newton Falls girls basketball team figured out how to beat a zone defense. Once they did, the Tigers were a team that became very difficult to slow down as they stunned Champion, 51-30, in All-American Conference Blue Tier action at Gene Zorn Gymnasium on Saturday night.
After Abby White hit a pair of 3-pointers, the Golden Flashes held a 6-3 lead just more than a minute into the game. A stoppage in the action midway through the initial period allowed the Tigers (3-1, 2-0) to regroup and go on a 12-2 run that spanned the final 3:31 of the first quarter and the first 40 seconds of the second to take a 16-8 lead.
“We took a timeout there,” Newton Falls coach Mark Baker said. “We felt the ball movement on the offensive end wasn’t bad, but the movement of the individuals was. We were stuck in a continuous offense. We were going to a spot instead of going to where the defense wasn’t.
“They were playing a zone and to beat the zone the ball has to move. You have two options — move before the zone moves or move after the zone moves. We weren’t finding the opening. We slowed down a little and found the opening better in the second quarter. We talked at the half and really started to pick it apart in the third quarter.”
Newton Falls held that advantage and led, 22-15, heading into the locker room at the break.
“We didn’t play with intensity,” Champion coach Michael Cole said. “Two often, they think they can turn it on and off. That’s one of the things we’re going to get much better at.”
Autumn Hutson touched off a 17-1 run with a 3-pointer to open the second half for the Tigers and they led, 39-16, with 1:23 left in the third period. Izzy Kline scored seven during that stretch and both she and fellow post Kayla Barreca added their own triples.
“It’s about putting people in a position where we choose who they guard,” Baker said. “When a team plays man, they choose who they guard. We moved people around for better matchups. And we had patience. I was very pleased about that. In games in the past, we would rush, rush rush. We slowed down tonight.”
“We were moving the ball around really well,” Kline said. “The offense was flowing good and we were talking a lot better.”
The Golden Flashes (2-2, 0-1) struggled to get much going in the way of offense in the quarter.
“I have to look back on the tape, but we missed some easy shots,” Cole said. “We shot poorly from the free-throw line. We weren’t cutting hard. We weren’t moving the ball. You have to move the ball from side to side before you attack. That wasn’t happening.”
“The defense in the third quarter was pretty good,” Baker said. “We talked at the half about a couple of miscues on the defensive end. At times, we were not quite getting into the help side. At times, we were closing the seam, but we’d lose sight of our girl. You play the ball first and see your girl. We were playing the ball and losing our girl. We adjusted and they were prepared for what to do. They did an excellent job.”
Kline finished with 26 points giving her 51 for the week to pace the Tigers.
“I just haven’t really shot well,” Kline said. “I’m getting more confident and I’m having more fun with it. I’m not taking (scoring) as something of a burden. I’m having fun, but not fun because of my own game. I’m excited for other people, like when Anga (Fowler) took those two charges.”
“She’s doing well because she’s playing team basketball,” Baker said. “Credit her teammates, as well. The people around her are knocking down shots and it opens things up for her. She’s learning the game better. She’s become studious. At times, when she was younger, she would force the issue. She’s doing a better job of not forcing the issue. And what it comes down to is she plays harder than everybody else.”
Barreca finished with 12 points and Hutson added nine on three 3-pointers.
White led the Golden Flashes with 13.
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