Lady Redskins Bomb Bombers At Weingberg Gym!
It would be a night that would show the difference between experience and inexperience as the Knox Lady Redskins, fresh off of three straight 3A Sectional Championships, took on a Rensselaer team fresh off of their first win of the season. The Lady Redskins would get off to a fast start, using a very deep and versatile roster to get the Lady Bombers behind the eight ball early on. It would be a relentless effort on the defensive end of the floor where Neill Minix’s Redskins would cause problems, forcing twelve turnovers in the first quarter of play. In the first four minutes of the game, Knox would have ten steals, led by veterans Riley Messer, Megan Bolen, Remi Jordan, Felicity Olejniczak, and Preston Minix. The Lady Redskins would blow things open early in the game, as the first quarter was punctuated by Jordan, who would rip down an offensive rebound, then put it back through the hoop at the end of the first quarter to give Knox a 17-4 lead as the horn sounded.
The Lady Redskins’ defense would continue to apply strong pressure against the Lady Bombers in the second quarter. Rensselaer would commit another eight turnovers in the second quarter, compared to Knox’s four. On the offensive end of the floor it would be Jordan along with Sophomore Riley Messer who would pour in the first half points for the Lady Redskins with a combination of Jordan’s inside scoring and Messer’s efficiency at the free throw line, as well as her ability to penetrate against the zone defense of Rensselaer. The duo would combine for thirty of Knox’s thirty-four first half points (each scoring fifteen a piece) as the teams entered their locker rooms at halftime, with Knox leading Rensselaer 34-11.
The second half would see the Lady Redskins continue to pull away, with a balanced scoring attack, led again by Remi Jordan, who would put up eight of her game-high twenty-three points, mostly in the third quarter. From an offensive standpoint, it would be Freshman Morgan Downs who would have some fans wide-eyed, as she would knock down two three-pointers in the final quarters, scoring all seven of her points in the second half. When the final horn sounded it would be Knox on top, 57-21, giving Knox a perfect 3-0 start to the season, and averaging sixty points per game, while giving up just eighteen. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of the night would be the steal total by Knox. Collectively, the Lady Redskins would log twenty-nine steals as a team, led by Megan Bolen (7), Felicity Olejniczak (7), and Preston Minix (6).
“We were extremely happy with our effort” Knox Coach Neill Minix said following the game. “Our defense is really good. When we rotate correctly and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ve proved that we’re tough to score against. We’ve got a couple of freshmen who played a lot of minutes, they’re doing a great job. When we get a couple of girls back, we’ll be able to go nine deep. We’ve never been able to do that”.
“We still need to shore up our defense” Minix continued. “Emphasis is going to be trying to score around the basket and continue to play good defense”.
On the other side, Rensselaer Head Coach Wes Radtke was extremely frustrated following a tough loss.
“I’m pretty frustrated right now”, Radtke said. “Right out of the gates it seemed like we didn’t get off the bus, didn’t show up. We’ll take a look at the film and get ready for the next game. We told the girls in the locker room I’ve got to have some leaders, some people to step up.”
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI would be the offensive rebound and put back basket by Knox’s Remi Jordan at the end of the first quarter to give the Lady Redskins a 17-4 lead as time expired. Not surprisingly, the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI went to Jordan as well, as she had a game high twenty-three points, to go along with fifteen rebounds, and four steals in the win.
Game Statistics
Scoring
Knox(57): Riley Messer-19, Morgan Downs-7, Megan Bolen-2, Remi Jordan-23, Felicity Olejniczak-4, Preston Minix-2
Rensselaer(21): Jessie Ringen-7, Makenzie Moore-3, Lola Chamness-4, Kaylee Tiede-Souza-3, Elizabeth Knoth-4
Free-Throws
Knox: 17-27 62%
Rensselaer: 6-10 60%
Made 3-Point Shots
Knox(2): Morgan Downs-2
Rensselaer(1): Makenzie Moore-1
Rebounding
Knox(39): Riley Messer-5, Morgan Downs-1, Megan Bolen-9, Remi Jordan-15, Felicity Olejniczak-2, Preston Minix-6, Addie Eskridge-1
Rensselaer(31): Jessie Ringen-7, Claire Stanley-1, Morgan Van Meter-2, Makenzie Moore-2, Lola Chamness-4, Kaylee Tiede-Souza-5, Avree Cain-4, Elizabeth Knoth-6
Steals
Knox(29): Riley Messer-3, Morgan Downs-1, Megan Bolen-7, Remi Jordan-4, Felicity Olejniczak-7, Preston Minix-6, Ellah Fairchild-1
Rensselaer(3): Claire Stanley-1, Morgan Van Meter-2
*Statistics Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*
