First Half Haunts LCA In Loss To ‘Busco
WINONA LAKE — It wasn’t Churubusco’s press per se that caused the Lady Cougars so much trouble during a decisive first half Tuesday.
But even when they did get the ball past the timeline, that full court pressure did speed the tempo past Lakeland Christian’s preferred pace, which in turn led to 12 turnovers and put the home team down by more than 20 at halftime. The Cougars recovered in the second half, but it was too little, too late in a 40-17 loss to the Eagles.
“It wasn’t necessarily turnovers off the press, but they just sped us up. So when we got to our half of the court, we were just trying to get rid of the ball and playing scared,” said LCA coach Allison Kauffman. “A lot of it was our confidence coming out. They seemed like they didn’t have any confidence in themselves and then that led to mistakes, which the snowball kept going in that first half.
“We were playing to get rid of the ball instead of playing confident in what we could do with the ball.”
The Cougars fell behind 14-3 in the first period and already trailed by more than 20 with a full 1:24 remaining in the first half. They cut down on their turnovers by three in the second half, and a revamped defensive effort led to seven steals by LCA and cued a dead-even, 10-10 second half.
“They came out and did a great job getting that defense going, which then got our offense going a little bit more. But, defensively is really where it started for us and reiterating the fact that no matter what was going on offensively, you’ve still got to play aggressive and play your game and play confidently defensively,” Kauffman said.
Tori Calizo finished with team-highs of seven points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in addition to three steals to lead Lakeland, while younger sister Jessi finished with six points, five steals, three rebounds and a block.
“They really stepped up, and last year as well — they were always our top two. They’ve done a great job this year stepping up and taking on that role,” said Kauffman of the Calizos. “Our shots just didn’t fall, and you’re going to have some of those nights. But you keep your head up, do what you can control, and the rest will fall into place. I’m really happy with their efforts the second half and their intensity.”
Cara McCrum chipped in two points to go with five rebounds and a block, while Finley Hobbs added four rebounds, and assist and a steal to the Cougars’ cause.
Busco got 14 points from junior guard Mariah Hosted, another 11 from senior forward Myah Bear and nine from sophomore Brelle Shearer. The Eagles moved to 3-0.
LCA slips to a 1-3 start, meanwhile. The Cougars will play at Lakewood park Thursday at 6 p.m.
“I told my girls we’re on a journey this season, and every game, win or lose, we’ve got to find something to learn from it. So we’re going to take tonight and how we came out that first half, and we’re going to learn from it,” asserted Kauffman. “We saw the difference in their potential, so hopefully we can put all four quarters together Thursday.”