Satellites Come Up Short In Comeback Bid
A slow start would be the biggest difference in the ballgame for the South Central Lady Satellites, as they played host to the South Bend St. Joseph Indians Saturday afternoon.
Early turnovers would be the biggest foe to the Lady Satellites, as St. Joe played disciplined zone defense against an aggressive South Central team, forcing four first quarter turnovers. While four turnovers may not seem like a lot, when the team getting the ball is converting those turnovers into points, it can spell big trouble, which is exactly what happened in the first eight minutes. The Lady Indians would consistently find the basket on their way to a 22-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The bulk of the scoring for St. Joe, in the first half, would come from behind the three-point line as well as the free throw line. The Lady Indians would hit three first half three-point shots, while knocking down eight of eleven at the free throw line, giving them seventeen of their twenty-seven first half points in just two aspects of the game. To put into perspective how well the Lady Satellites played after the first quarter, they were able to outscore St. Joe 35-27 in the remaining three quarters, but could not overcome the first quarter deficit.
“That’s kind of how it’s been” South Central Head Coach Wes Bucher said following the game. “We’re just trying to find a way to string four quarters together and we haven’t done it yet. We’re close, it gives you hope to see your team come out with a lot of resiliency”.
After putting up just thirteen points in the first half, the Lady Satellites become much more aggressive in the third and fourth quarters. Following the lead of Junior Abbie Tomblin, who scored all twelve of her points in the second half, South Central would claw their way back into the ballgame, as Tomblin would knock down three, three-point shots. The Junior would also lead the team in steals with five, as the Lady Satellites continued to battle throughout the second half. Fellow Junior Delanie Gale would provide the most consistency in the scoring category for South Central, as she too would end the game with twelve points scoring five and seven points in the first and second half, respectively. Despite the tough loss against a strong opponent, Bucher was still pleased with the effort of his girls.
“I’m so proud of Kate Welsh” Bucher said. “She really came out tonight in the third and fourth quarter when we really needed her. She attacked the basket and looked to score. I’m also proud of Abbie (Tomblin)” Bucher continued. “Abbie is doing a good job of getting herself into scoring situations and doing a better job of not turning away from the basket, she’s seeing open people, she’s kicking and we’re getting some looks off of that”.
In the end, the major difference in the ballgame would come at the free throw line, where the points scored, as well as the attempts taken at the line, were not close between the two teams. The Lady Indians found themselves knocking down nineteen of twenty-eight attempts at the line for sixty-seven percent, while South Central would go just three of ten for thirty percent in the losing effort.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came in the fourth quarter with thirty-two seconds remaining in the ball game as Sarah Hiestand knocked down two free throws to make it a three possession game, putting the game out of reach for the Lady Satellites.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI went to Sarah Hiestand as well. The 5’11 Senior had eleven points, scoring six in the first half and five in the second, while pulling down fourteen rebounds, and logging four steals in the Lady Indians’ 49-41 win.
The Lady Satellites will be back in action on December 16th, when they travel to Wheeler to take on the Lady Bearcats in a Porter County Conference battle, while St. Joe will get back to Northern Indiana Conference play on the 18th, when they play host to South Bend Riley.
Game Statistics
Scoring
St. Joe(49): Kelly Ratigan-19, Hannah Tyler-2, Sarah Hiestand-11, Peyton Hull-5, Mia Naman-12
S.Central(41): Delanie Gale-12, Lauren Bowmar-4, Abbie Tomblin-12, Olivia Marks-6, Kate Welsh-7
Made 3-Point Shots
S.Central(4): Abbie Tomblin-3, Delanie Gale-1
St.Joe(4): Kelly Ratigan-2, Mia Naman-2
Free Throw Shooting
St.Joe: 19-28 67%
S.Central: 3-10 30%
Rebounding
St.Joe(35): Kelly Ratigan-1, Tahj Casares-1, Madison Naman-5, Hannah Tyler-7, Sarah Hiestand-14, Peyton Hull-6, Mia Naman-1
S.Central(30): Delanie Gale-2, Elle Kimmel-1, Lauren Bowmar-5, Abbie Tomblin-3, Sadie Marks-1, Lillian Tolmen-6, Olivia Marks-9, Kate Welsh-3
Steals
S.Central(9): Delanie Gale-1, Lauren Bowmar-1, Abbie Tomblin-5, Lillian Tolmen-1, Kate Welsh-1
St.Joe(6): Kelly Ratigan-2, Sarah Hiestand-4
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*
