Richland Bounce-Back on Suns - By Conner Schulz
The Richland Bomber Girls basketball team’s defense fueled them to a bounce-back win versus the Southridge Suns on Saturday night with a final score of 77-32. The Bomber girls had a tough loss with a score of 45-53 to Chiawana the night before. This was their first conference loss of the season. This game against Southridge was a big game for the Bombers. If they won, they would keep their second place in the Mid-Columbia Conference.
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| Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook). |
After losing to Chiawana, sophomore Mackenzie Schulz said, “The plan was pretty simple. We were going to move the ball more, as well as off-ball movement. Then on defense, we make them get to their off-hand.” That is exactly what they did. The start of game began with both teams making shots. The Suns scored first, followed by Mackenzie Schulz making a three. Then the Suns hit another two-pointer. Richland Bombers Macie Milum followed with another three-pointer. The Bomber girls really started pressuring the Suns. Their defense was on point and allowed them to begin gaining a lead. Maggie Smith followed with another three-pointer. Within minutes of the beginning of the game, the Bombers’ press began to allow them to transfer their defensive stops into more shot opportunities. By the end of the first quarter, the Bomber girls were leading and controlling the game with a score of 27-10 and nine steals.
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| Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook). |
The second quarter showed the Bomber girl’s press was tenacious. From the 5:55 mark till 4:48, the Southridge girls were not able to get the ball past half-court. This stretch of time was highlighted by Maggie Smith and Kylee Fox’s defense. Kylee Fox tipped the ball out of freshman Aryn Sloot’s position allowing Maggie Smith to get the ball and pass the ball to Kylee Fox with an immediate tip pass right back to Maggie Smith for the left-handed lay-up. In this stretch, the Bombers were able to get an 8-0 run on the Southridge Suns. When asking Kylee about why the press was so effective, she said, “Our defense was successful because we communicated and rotated well in our press, which led us to get easy buckets and go on multiple runs.”
Once again, in the third quarter, the Bomber girls continued what they had started in the first half. Their defense stayed on point without the press after a minute in the third. The Bombers then went on a 21-2 run in the third quarter, with the quarter ending with a score of 67-23. In the third quarter alone, Maggie Smith was able to put up 11 more points to her name. When asked, what allowed her to score like this, she said, “Making more shots because of arch and better off-ball movement to get the right shots.”
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| Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook). |
The fourth quarter was short and sweet as the Bombers were able to get a major lead leaving them to running-clock and managing to score 10 points. This gave the opportunity for younger and less experienced players to get valuable playing while being able to play good defense and keeping Southridge to 9 points. The Bomber girls ended the game with a score of 77-32, with Maggie Smith leading the team with a total of 21 points and Kylee Fox with a total of 14 points.
The most telling statistics from the game were the team turnovers and shooting percentages. Richland limited their turnovers to only seven, while the Suns had a whopping 31. The shooting percentage differential was equally impressive, with the Bombers shooting a solid 54.1% compared to the Suns’ dismal 35.5%.
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| Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook). |
After this win, the Bombers will be facing up against a tough matchup, the Kamiakin Braves, on Tuesday, January 9th, at Kamiakin. Asking Kylee Fox and Maggie Smith about what to expect from the game next Tuesday, Kylee said, “It’s going to be a very tough game and especially playing at their place. They have some really good players, and we have to come ready to play from the start.” Maggie Smith added, “We need to control the pace of the game and play team basketball from the beginning.” This game will be a true test for the Bombers, as if they win this next game, they will be tied for first in the conference. The Braves are led on the perimeter by Nickole Thomas (15.3 points per game) and on the interior by Maddy Rendall (14.1 points per game). Their other three starters each average over 9 points per game.
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| Photo courtesy of Megan DeGraaf (RHS Yearbook). |
