Flashes shoot past Brookfield
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CHAMPION -- The gym at Champion High School played host to a shooting clinic on Thursday, as the Golden Flashes shot 14 3-pointers in a 51-27 victory over Brookfield.
Kennedy Caldwell and Kayla Haynie combined for eight first-half 3-pointers in the win.
Following a three-game skid against a pair of Division I schools, Harding and St. Joseph Academy, and league rival Crestview, the Flashes have been on a tear, winning five straight.
In addition to shooting, credit can go to the team's defense.
"Defensively we've been good, too. We've really been dialed in defensively, boxing out has been better. We really had to address that," Champion coach Michael Cole said. "We got a little lax a few games ago, but I feel like we're trying to hit the boards a little harder. On defense, we're fine. We flew around, we mixed it up a lot, and when the shots are falling, you look pretty good."
Haynie led the team with a game-high 17 points. Bella Meyer had 16, including three rapid-fire 3-pointers during the third quarter, and Caldwell finished with 14.
While solid shooting from deep has been the Flashes' bread and butter for a while now, don't expect them to just chuck shots everywhere.
Cole has the players shooting a ton in practice and refining that skill.
"We're not just coming in here and saying 'Everyone gets to shoot 3s.' We put a lot of practice time on shooting, from the basic form stuff to a lot of different drills," Cole said. "I stole a drill off Roy Sembach from Newton Falls. Olympic shooting, we do a lot. The girls don't like it, but it helps with the 3-pointers. We really put a lot of onus on shooting and if you've got it, why make those 50 passes when you can keep the ball."
With the tournament fast approaching, the preparation begins. It's less about learning at this stage of the game and more about executing.
"We're starting to taper off practice a little bit, and I actually finally feel like I've got the stuff in that we need," Cole said. "We're going to start really working on just skill development stuff. We do a lot of shooting, but we don't have a lot of skill stuff. We do so much on the X's and O's and execution, so we're just going to keep working on sprinkling a few new things here or there and just keep doing what we do."
Champion (11-4, 7-1 MVAC-Gray) doesn't skimp on its schedule, and that is something that can only help when the tournament starts.
While the three-game skid wasn't something the team wanted, there were a lot of lessons to pull from it.
"We're pretty quick at (evening out after a loss) -- even me. Those are three games I knew we could lose, but we play those for a reason," Cole said. "Obviously the Crestview [game] was a big one that stung a little bit because it's a league game, but going into Howland and playing a bunch of Division I schools, that's what helps us out later in the year. It's just what we expected. It was very physical, something we're not used to and that's what we wanted to get out of it."
The Flashes look to continue the win streak as they host Garfield on Wednesday.
Brookfield looks to get back on track with league rival Liberty.
It's a season of building for the Warriors (4-10, 3-5 MVAC-Gray) and there is a lot for Brookfield to take from the loss.
"It's a learning experience," Warriors coach Tyler Kilbourne said. "They came out, they shot the crap out of the ball, and it's hard to come back and bounce back when they're just burying 3 after 3 after 3. I think in the second half, we gave a lot better effort. That's what we're looking for -- effort and to keep fighting no matter what's going on."
byauger@tribtoday.com