Kalamazoo Valley - 66
Grand Rapids CC - 46 |
| Pair of 9 - 3
teams square off in Ford Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids |
|
On the road for the first game of
conference play, without the services of two go-to players from
non-conference play and facing the 9-3 Lady Raiders - there had to be a
bit of concern for the 6th ranked Lady Cougars, but the end result was no
different. Showing it's determination and versatility, the young
Cougar squad stepped up to the challenge and "hit the curve-ball",
handing the home standing Raiders a 66-46 loss.
"Yes, there were some questions to be
answered going into this game." Said a happy Coach Welch after the
game. "Who was going to step up and pick up the slack." Welch was making reference to the
season ending injury to freshman Jealyn Foston in the Kankakee game and
the fact that another outstanding freshman, Megan Holland, would not be
playing in the second semester because of academic concerns. "Foston
and Holland are both very good players and it's a testament to the
character, level of talent and determination of our remaining
players to be successful. This is a team game and when we
play as a unit we can be very good. Do we miss those two? Of
course we do, but our goals for the season have not changed and I feel
strongly that this group will always give it's best effort toward that
end and make it happen."
Stepping into a starting role for the
Cougars for the first time was Sam "Spanky" Karasiewicz and she
proved to be more than up to the task. "We knew from scouting
reports and tapes that Coach McEwen's group was going to put a
tremendous amount of pressure on us and Spanky gave us another handler
on the floor to help relieve some of that pressure." Explained
Welch. "I guess you could say the strategy worked as the Cougars only
turned it over 15 times while forcing 29 by GRCC. "We've been
talking to Spanky all season about being more of a scoring option, in
addition to being a creator. Tonight she proved to us, and to
herself that she can do that."
The contest was close thru out the first half,
with six ties and five lead changes, but the Cougar defense kept the contest close and
they went in
with only a tenuous five point lead (32-27) at the half. "I didn't feel like we
really got into any kind of offensive flow in the first half," Said
Welch. "GR's pressure took us out of our rhythm, which I'm sure was the
plan, but we were getting some stuff off turnovers and Kim Gear had a
great first half scoring with 13 points to spark us - mostly by just
running the floor. It's scary how good she could be. She's
just touched the tip of the iceberg and is really getting comfortable
with our scheme out there."
The Lady Cougar's came out of the locker
room and really showed what they were capable of in the second half. "We started to
compete better on the boards after being out
rebounded by the hustling Raiders 25-14 in the first half and started really
challenging every shot." explained the coach. "Gear and
Chelsea Acker were extremely active on the boards and Acker scored 9 of
her 14 points in the second half to lead the surge." Both Gear and
Acker produced double-doubles for the game with Gear leading the Cougars
in scoring with 17 and pulling down 10 caroms, while Acker snared 12
rebounds to add to her 14 points. "Chelsea's hard work is
beginning to pay off for her. She's become a very legitimate
offensive threat and I believe she's the best defensive post presence in
the conference - if not the state. All of our post players really
played well tonight." Commented a pleased Welch. " Kate Whittaker,
coming off a high ankle sprain that sidelined her for all but two games
in the first half, showed signs of being back in form with a nice
seven point contribution and solid post defense. It's nice to have
her back, even tho she's not jumping as well as she's capable of
yet!"
The Cougars placed three players in double
figures with Karasiewicz chipping in
10 points, in addition to dishing out 6 assists while only turning it
over only once. Amber Peters and Korni Matteson, although
suffering thru an off shooting night, made good contributions to the
floor game as Amber had 5 assists (with one turnover), a timely block, 4
rebounds and 2 steals. Kortni contributed 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4
steals. Betsey Dennis and Kendra Kutz were real solid off
the bench for the Cougars - each with five points - as the Cougar bench
matched the GR reserves with 17 bench points.
"We have a
lot of
weapons. I could - and probably will - start a variety of line
ups, depending on who we play. Betsey Dennis' increased mobility
coming off a shin splint stress fracture has made her a different
player. The 10 days off at Christmas was the best thing that could
have happened for her and although Kendra wasn't really feeling up to
snuff, I thought she really battled thru it and gave us some positive
minutes. If she continues to play within
herself and let the game come to her she probably has more of an upside
than anybody."
There's not much rest for the the
Lady Cougars as they swing back into action at Lake Michigan College on
Friday night at 5:30 pm. "Lake Michigan is not an easy place to play
and they are well coached." Cautioned Welch. "We
must come
back with short rest and play focused and energized - not an easy task
for a young team that hasn't had to do that. I trust this group
tho and I think they'll be up to the challenge"
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A
Coach Welch Game Summary
