Junior Kenzie Yoder attempts a free throw late in the game against Spring Hill. Yoder went 5/6 from the stripe Friday night. " />
Junior Kenzie Yoder attempts a free throw late in the game against Spring Hill. Yoder went 5/6 from the stripe Friday night.
Leaping out of bounds to save a loose ball, junior Kenzie Yoder passed the ball to senior Sawyer Schreiner who raced to the other end of the court on a fast break.
But Schreiner couldn’t finish the play as she missed the shot and the ball was quickly back in Spring Hill’s possession.
Not being able to capitalize on turnovers and fast break chances was a common theme for the Cardinals in their 38-26 loss in the season opener Friday against Spring Hill.
“We did leave points off the board when we were doing good things defensively,” head coach Brandon Parker said. “We just need to slow ourselves down a little bit, ironically on a fast break, but just get ourselves in better position to have better balance in our finishing.”
Part of the reason the Cardinals had trouble finishing is because it was an overall bad shooting night. The team’s first points did not come until about 55 seconds left in the first quarter when sophomore Hanna Keltner made one of two free throws.
The team was down 26-5 at halftime.
“There was definitely a lid on the goal because our shots were definitely not falling,” Schreiner, who, along with Yoder, led the team in scoring with nine points, said.
Turnovers were a problem on offense as well. Junior Parker Long said the amount of turnovers the team had could be chalked up to start-of-season jitters.
“It was the first game, and I feel like we were really hyped up,” Long said. “It’s kind of just like a mindset thing, just calming down during the game. I think that first game just amped us up really bad.”
However, the team started to put points on the board and pick up some momentum in the second half.
About halfway through the third quarter, junior Jayla Erpelding found a cutting Yoder, who drew a foul in the paint. Yoder sank both free throws.
Schreiner then scored on back-to-back possessions, and then Long made two more free throws to complete the 7-2 Cardinal mini-run.
“I think we came out and we finally had our mind on the court, and we wanted the game more throughout the second half,” Long said.
The Cardinals went on another run in the fourth quarter. This time Long started it by drawing a foul and making two free throws once again.
Then the Cardinals forced a turnover on defense, which led to Schreiner converting on a put-back after an Erpelding miss.
But missed opportunities on fast break attempts came back to bite the Cardinals.
The team, however, ended the game on a 12-0 run after junior Lainey Orr made a three-pointer, and Schreiner and Yoder made a pair of free throws each.
“We put together a lot better two quarters after being down 23 to 5, or whatever it was, to come back and make it a 12-point game, and we easily could have gotten it closer,” Parker said. “But, we showed a lot more heart in the second round that we are going to take out of this and know that we can put a bunch of negatives together and still be in a game.”
Schreiner, the team’s only senior, said her message to the team was to adjust their mindset moving forward.
“Really focusing in on practice from now on and not getting down on yourself on the court,” she said. “When you miss a layup or something, just sprint back and get back on defense.”
The Cardinals will look to recover on the road against Mill Valley at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].