The Press by Chris Daniels

After a tough loss to Kennewick, the Lady Bombers got right back into it against the Bulldogs. Heading into the game, the Pasco Bulldogs, led by Mia Salgado, are 2-12 with wins over Eisenhower and Southridge. On the other hand, the Bombers, led by Jr Mackenzie Schulz, are 5-4 overall, which places them 5th in the MCC. I talked to Sr. Guard Kaya Chang about this season. "The season is going good, and I think collectively, we have all connected well and are really getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses," said Chang. "The game plan was to focus really hard on playing good defense and shutting down their key players. We have been working on our zone press as well, and I think that will be good for us". 

Photo: RHS Yearbook

Schulz wins the tip as the game kicks off but is out of bounds, leading the first possession to the Bulldogs. The Bomber defense was forceful in tonight's matchup, starting the game by forcing Pasco to take a tough shot in transition. The Bombers got the rebound, and sophomore guard Kylee Kukes found Chang, who knocked down the three for the game's first points. The Dogs don't let that slide, and number 22 Salgado pulls up from the top of the key and drains a triple of her own. The Lady Bombers kept in rhythm throughout the first quarter, scoring 14 points. The Bulldogs scored 9, with Salgado scoring 7. Moving right into the second quarter, the Bulldogs find an early three, and Salgado knocks it down. The Bombers have a quick turnover but are set up in a zone press. The full-court press leads Kukes to a steal, and she dishes it to Shulz for an easy layup. The Bombers cause havoc with the press, and again, Kukes gets another steal; she finds Schulz, and Schulz finds Jr. Forward Ryanne Stottlemyer, who spots up for the three. The Bulldogs call a quick timeout, trailing 19-12. With 7 minutes to go, the Bombers stay in the full-court press and force a ten-second violation on the Bulldogs. A quick inbound from the Bombers goes to Kukes, who finds Schulz again for an easy turnaround floater.

Photo: RHS Yearbook

Milum gets a steal and drives down for a layup, putting the Bombers ahead 23-12 with 5:35 left. The Dogs finally put something together; Sophomore Guard Mariah Montez makes a cross-court pass to freshman guard Leilani Sanders, who finds the bottom of the net for a three. The Bulldogs get into a press, hoping to stop this downhill Bombers offense. The Bulldogs get a quick stop, but the bomber defense stays strong; Sr. Guard Macie Milum gets a steal and pushes it up the floor to find Kukes for the easy layup. A couple of trips later, Pasco's sophomore forward Oliva Puritt-Lasselle finds a layup assisted by Montez. The Bulldogs stay in their half-court trap, but it is not enough to stop the Bombers from getting easy wide-open shots. Heading into halftime, the Bombers are up 36-19 after Sr. Forward Maya Rowe makes two free throws. I met with the boys' Varsity starter, Josh Woordard, and asked him about the full-court press. "This press is really good if you know how to play it right; it changes the game's pace and is very tough for the offense. The focus of this press is to get a trap around both corners at half-court, which makes the offense pick up their dribble and forces them to make a bad pass or cause them to make a skip pass. With only 10 seconds to beat it, the offense panics, which leads to turnovers and then to easy points." said Woodard.

After the break, the Bombers get the ball to start, and Schulz finds Milum for the post-up to a layup. The Bombers again stuck with that full-court press. The Bulldogs find a way to beat it, leading to an open three, but for the Bombers, Rowe is there for the rebound. Rowe moves it to Milum, and Milum moves it back to Rowe for an easy right-hand layup over Pruitt-Lasselle. Pasco wastes no time pushing the pace up the floor. Salgado finds the other freshman, Sanders, who knocks down another three. The Bombers also picked up the pace in the third quarter, getting multiple layups and jump shots. The Bombers scored 25 in the third, with Schulz and Milum scoring 8. The Bulldogs have a rough quarter, only scoring seven points and five free throws. As the fourth quarter came around, the Bombers led the Bulldogs 61 to 26. 

Photo: RHS Yearbook

The Lady Bombers finally drop out of their full-court press but instead set up in a 3-2 Zone. The Bombers get multiple stops, and pushing into transition is Milum, who makes an incredible one-handed pass through the Pasco defense to find Schulz for the layup on the left side of the hoop. The Bombers are playing great defense, but the Bulldogs are trying to find a way to score. After a missed three by Sanders, sophomore Michelle Groce is there for the rebound, and she puts it back up off the glass. With 2 Minutes left, the Bombers led 66-34. There's not much going on for the Bombers, but for the Bulldogs, Mia Selago finds herself an open three and knocks it down. As time passed, the dogs fought, but it was not enough for the Bombers. 

Schulz ends the game with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists, Millum with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and Kukes with 9 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Mia Salgado finishes with 13 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs, Sanders with 8 points, five rebounds, and two assists, and Groce with 5 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The Bombers Move to 6-4 overall with eight games left in the regular season.