Falcons Swoop Through Bobcat Den For Tourney Wins!

It was a wild first game at Oregon-Davis, as the Lady Bobcats and Lady Falcons went at it for the second time, only this time it was in the Teachers Credit Union Bi-County Tournament. The intensity felt as that of a Sectional Championship bout, with the teams and crowd living and dying with every shot or whistle blow. As the first quarter neared it’s end, scoring guru Mercedes Rhodes would find a way through the tough John Glenn defense, contorting her body as bodies closed down around her, with her last ounce of strength she was able to hurl the ball towards the backboard for a successful bank shot, to give her team a 19-13 lead over the Lady Falcons.

Rhodes would be counted on time and time again throughout the ballgame to carry the bulk of the scoring load for the Lady ‘Cats. One of the leading scorers in the state, Rhodes would score 13 of her team’s 33 first half points helping her team to a slim 33-31 lead at the half. Rhodes would ultimately eclipse her season average, putting up a game-high 31 points in the effort. The Lady Falcons, meanwhile, would rely much of the first half on the scoring of Seja Lang, who scored 12 of her team’s 31 first half points. The Lady Bobcats would also hold a fairly significant lead in the rebounding category, as OD was able to out-rebound Glenn 14-6 in the first half, and 31-21 for the game, with Madi Hudspeth pulling down an impressive 13 rebounds to lead both teams in that category.

The second half would see an increase in defensive intensity for the Lady Falcons. It seemed every time Oregon-Davis would get the ball across the half-court line, the Lady Falcons would have multiple players surrounding the ball, getting deflections or steals. The Lady Falcons would log an incredible 11 steals in the ball game, led by Abby Machnic and Lang who would each grab 3 steals apiece. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, would come in the 3-point shooting for the two teams. For the better part of three decades, the Lady Bobcats have been known as one of, if not the most dangerous 3-point shooting teams in the State of Indiana. The Lady Falcons would turn the tables on this night, as the girls from Walkerton would knock down 15 3-pointers in the win, connecting on 7 in the first half and 8 in the second! Emma Romer would lead John Glenn, as she knocked down 5 three-pointers, while Seja Lang added 4 of her own. Jessica Yelaska would be successful on more than one occasion, hitting 2 on the night, while Abby Machine added 2, and Raegan Romer as well as Brooke Miller each connected on 1 apiece. Oregon-Davis would end the game with 4 made from behind the arc, with each successful attempt coming from a different individual, as Elizabeth Johnson, Katy Sauer, McKenna Chessor, and Mercedes Rhodes all connected once.

While Oregon-Davis was able to outscore John Glenn at the free-throw line by 9 points, hitting 14-22 to Glenn’s 5-10, it would be the outside shooting of the Lady Falcons that would give them the edge, as they were able to outscore OD 45-12 from downtown. The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game Award on WKVI would go to Seja Lang, who ended the night with 22 points, including 4 three-pointers.

The night’s second game would not have the same kind of drama, but would provide some fireworks nonetheless, as the two boys teams squared off in their portion of the TCU Bi-County Doubleheader. The Falcons would jump out early on the host Bobcats, and would keep the pedal down to the floor for quite a while. The Falcons would have great scoring contributions from their entire roster starting on their first possession, and going through to the fourth quarter. When the dust settled, it would the Falcons in a route over Oregon-Davis, as John Glenn would find five players in double-digits scoring, and every member of their roster putting up two points in the win.

At the free-throw line, the Falcons would have a fourteen point advantage as they went 15-23, while the Bobcats made just one trip to the line, as Caleb Seese would go 1-2 in the effort. Things would end up being a bit closer from long range, with Glenn holding a 4-2 advantage over Oregon-Davis from behind the arc. Khori Barker would lead the Falcons with two 3-pointers, while Ryan Pitts Jr. and Dylan Murphy would each connect on one for the Bobcats.

The best battle on the floor would be seen between the two defenses, as the teams would combine for fifteen steals in the game, with John Glenn pulling away eight, while Oregon-Davis was able to snag seven. Silas Kaser would lead the Falcons in that category with three, while Dylan Murphy was able to pull away three as well for the Bobcats.

It would be the effort of Brycen Hannah that would earn him the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI, as he led his team in scoring with 12 points, while also pulling down 4 rebounds in the winning effort. The Falcons improve to 10-3 on the year, while the Bobcats drop to 1-10.

Girls Scoring Statistics

Glenn(65): Seja Lang-22, Emma Romer-14, Jessica Yelaska-10, Abby Machnic-8, Brooke Miller-7, Raegan Romer-4

OD(62): Mercedes Rhodes-31, Madi Hudspeth-10, Elizabeth Johnson-7, Jayden Worthington-6, Katy Sauer-5, McKenna Chessor-3

Boys Scoring Statistics

Glenn(79): Silas Kaser-13, Rob Porter-3, Carter Yung-16, Noah Abrell-2, Brycen Hannah-12, Jack Porter-8, Khori Barker-13, Jake Frankiewicz-12

OD(13): Cameron Taylor-2, Garrett Weil-2, Jared Bryan-2, Caleb Seese-1, Ryan Pitts Jr-3, Dylan Murphy-3