by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
Amanda-Clearcreek turned things around in the second half to pick up a 40-29 win at Logan Elm Saturday night.
The Braves had a 9-6 lead after the first quarter and were up 18-14 at the half.
The Aces picked up their defense and dominated the boards to start the second half in holding the Braves in check to get on top 24-21 by the end of the third.
“They’re playing much better basketball than they have the last couple of years. He’s doing a phenomenal job with them,” AC coach Tim Leist said of the Braves and first-year coach Mike Schultz. “We knew they would come out with a lot of energy, and we took their best punch in the first quarter. And Kiki (Kiannah Ingram) just had a half.”
LE’s Ingram had 15 of her 22 points in the first half. And the Aces struggled through nine turnovers in the first quarter, eleven for the half.
“The biggest thing I told them was if you take care of the ball now, we can set our defense and now really double (Ingram) and really wear her out,” Leist said. “And that was a big difference in the second half.”
Through the first four minutes of the third period, AC had a 10-0 rebounding edge and finished the quarter with a 14-5 edge.
LE’s only points in the third came on a three-point play from Ingram in the final minute.
“I think the difference in that second half was we just couldn’t run our sets. Amanda did a really nice job taking us out of what we tried to do offensively. They sped us up,” Schultz said. “They made the adjustments where they really tried to key on Kiki to get that ball out of her hands at all costs, even through a double team. They sped us up a little bit beyond what our young pups were able to do.”
The game was still within reach for the Braves trailing 28-23 with five-and-a-half minutes left but the next 10 points were all scored by AC’s Grace Davis which put an exclamation point on her 22-point effort.
“We challenged Grace to attack the rim and not settle for jump shots and she did and had a heck of a game,” Leist said. “She became the X factor once she realized she could get to the rim.”
While she didn’t hit the box score, Rachel Weaver had a big impact for the Aces grabbing 10 rebounds – seven in the third quarter – as AC finished the game with a 36-20 rebounding edge. Davis grabbed seven. Kimberly Petty led LE with five and Ingram had four.
“Rachel Weaver did a great job on the boards,” Leist said.
Logan Elm goes to Chillicothe Wednesday while the Aces are off until hosting Liberty Union Friday.
“We’re going to keep battling and we have to remember that we’re just young,” Schultz said. “I reminded them that Amanda’s team has four players that have four years’ experience, and we have one player who has three years’ experience. We’re going to go through our growing pains together. It’s just stepping up and understanding that principle that I’ve got to match their toughness.
“Even our talk in the locker room was very positive. It’s just those little things we need to do better as a team.”
Amanda-Clearcreek 40, Logan Elm 29
Amanda-Clearcreek — Grace Davis 11-0-22, Allie Leist 1-0-2, Taylor Evans 2-5-10, Kaylie Wilson 2-0-6. Three-point goals — Evans, Wilson (2). Total — 16-42 5-8 40.
Logan Elm — Kimmy Petty 0-1-1. Hannah Rhoads 1-0-2, Kiannah Ingram 7-6-22, Kennedy Groff 1-0-2, Emma Largent 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Ingram (2). Total — 10-36 7-13 29
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Amanda-Clearcreek 6 8 10 16 40
Logan Elm 9 9 3 8 29
