January Finds the MJH Lady Lions with Full Schedule
by Janette Wedel
January 09, 2008
MJH Ladies Host Kanopolis
On Thursday, January 3, the Lady Lions hosted the Kanopolis Bulldogs. The first contest since the Christmas break saw the Lions coming out a bit jittery, but they eventually settled down to lead 8-2 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the girls stepped it up on both ends of the court, and as a result they scored 21 points and held Kanopolis to zero. The final score of the game was 42 – 14 favoring the Lions. “I was very impressed with how these girls played as a team tonight. We had seven girls score and as a team we had nine assists,” commented Coach Baker. Scoring for the Lions was Kenzie Zimmerman and Riley Baker each with two, Kelsie Paige and Kara Fraser each with six, Katie Paige and Ally Steinbrock each with eight and Ashlyn Macy scored ten.
In girls’ B-Team action, the Lions were ready to continue their winning streak after the Christmas break. Things started out slowly for the Lions, finding themselves down by a score of 4-8 in the first half. “It was a very physical game, with not a lot of fouls being called, and I think that negatively influenced our players,” said Coach Wedel. But the Lions adjusted to the level of play and came out fighting in the 2nd half. “Our defense was amazing, holding the Bearcats to only 2 points in the 2nd half. In addition, we finally found the basket ourselves – scoring 19 second-half points. The game ended with the Lions claiming the win by a score of 23 – 10. Scorers for MJH were Casey Carson – 9, MacKenzie Zimmerman – 6, Alyssa Smith – 4, and Vyctorya Allison and Dina Lyne each with 2 points.
The C-team girls were defeated by Kanopolis by a score of 2 – 8 in two quarters of play. Lindsey Abell scored the only basket for the Lions.
____________________________________________________________________
B-Team Places Second in Tourney
The B-team hosted a tournament on Saturday, January 5. The Lions took on league rival Southeast of Saline in the first contest. The Lions were faced with a full court press, but were able to break it and get in to their half court offensive set scoring a total of 28 final points to the Trojan’s 26. “This game came down right to the wire. I was pleased with the way our girls handled themselves when the Trojans were putting pressure on them to come back and win,” commented Coach Baker. Scoring for Minneapolis was Alyssa Smith and Dina Lyne each two, Zimmerman and Casey Carson each seven and Vyctorya Allison had 10.
In the second game of the tournament, the Lions faced Republic County. It was difficult for the Lions to recover after the hard fought Southeast game with only seven total players. The Lions lost 12 to 21, taking second place in the tournament. “Republic County just moved the ball too well against our defense. The girls never gave up, but unfortunately, they were just overmatched. I look forward to us playing them again when we are fresher and have a few more people on the bench,” commented Coach Baker. Scoring for the Lions was Lyne and Carson two each, Zimmerman and Ariel Hoppe four each.
______________________________________________________________________C-Team Takes 2nd in Tourney
The MJH girls’ C-Team took 2nd place in their annual C-Team Tournament held at Southeast of Saline on Saturday, January 5, 2008. The day began with the Lions facing the Sacred Heart Knights in the first game. As expected, the Knights played man-to-man defense, but the Lions were ready. “We executed our offense very well, and jumped out to an early lead,” stated Coach Wedel. The score at half-time was 14 – 4 favoring the Lions. Then second half continued to be dominated by the Lions. “Not only did our offense look good, but the girls played outstanding defense, holding the Knights to only 2 points in the second half,” added Coach Wedel. The game ended with a score of Minneapolis 24 and Sacred Heart 6. Scoring for the Lions was Jackie Conway with 10, Shayla Fuller had 8, Sarah Snider adding 4, and Lindsey Abell putting in 2 points.
In the second game, the Lions faced the Ell-Saline Cardinals. It was a close competition and hard-fought. The Cardinals brought along some experienced players, so it was really a challenge to raise the level of play in the game. At half-time, the Lions led with a score of 9-6. In the third quarter, the Cardinals pulled out all the stops and full-court pressed Minneapolis. “We had not faced a press all year long, and the girls just couldn’t quite handle all the pressure,” said Coach Wedel. “We called several time-outs, but just couldn’t overcome their defense.” The Cardinals gained the lead and never looked back. The final score of the game had the Ell-Saline Cardinals defeating the Minneapolis Lions by a score of 20 – 11. Scoring for the Lions was Snider 4, Abell 3, and Conway and Fuller each had 2 points.
