Lady Jets VS Meridian Mustangs
February 7, 2008
By Beatrice Daily Sun
February 09, 2008
Lady Mustangs handle Sterling Lady Jets
By Jane White/Daily Sun sports editor Friday, Feb 08, 2008 - 09:49:25 am CST
STERLING-
Daykin Meridian’s Lady Mustangs took off on the run, but were never
able to truly breakaway from the Sterling Lady Jets until the end
of the game Thursday at Sterling. Meridian downed Sterling,
67-53,
“Sterling really hung around,” Meridian coach Robert Schropfer
said. “I thought in the second quarter we got pretty good control
of the game, but then all of a sudden we didn’t keep track of their
shooters and they did a nice job of moving the ball and kept
knocking down threes. “They hung around and kept
themselves in the ball game.” Meridian led 20-10 after the
first quarter and 33-19 at halftime. In the third quarter
both teams posted 16 points, while in the fourth both finished with
18. The Lady Jets made runs at Meridian during the contest,
however, forcing the Lady Mustangs to answer.
“Sterling never gave up,” Schropfer said. “We had an 18-point lead
on them and I was thinking about going to my bench and getting some
subs in and saving players for the next couple games, but then here
they came. “They played us hard right down to the end.”
Sterling coach John Cockerill said the Lady Jets came out a little
“slow” and “sluggish.” The Lady Jets were missing one of
their senior starters due to illness, which left the rest of the
team “down” and unsure they could play with Meridian early,
Cockerill said. “We came out in the second half and realized
we could play with them,” Cockerill said. Outside shooting
kept the Lady Jets in the game as they hit eight three-pointers as
a team. “We told them we wanted them to play basketball,”
Cockerill said. “We didn’t want them to worry about what was going
to happen, we wanted them to shoot it up.” Cockerill said the
Lady Jets had some players knock down key shots and also got to the
line and had some free throws. Sterling definitely had its
“chances” in the game, Cockerill said. “We were within seven
(points) for six possessions and didn’t score,” Cockerill said.
Meridian had four players finish in double-scoring figures led by
Amber Hansel with 20 points. The Lady Mustangs have eight
players who can all score, Schropfer said, which makes them a tough
team to defend. “Having four girls in double figures, that’s
really nice to have,” Schropfer said. “I don’t know how many
balls we had our hands on and just never controlled it,” Schropfer
said. “We have to be stronger with our hands and look the ball into
our hands. We need to grab it strong and make sure it’s ours.”
Cockerill said there’s things the Lady Jets can take from the
loss. “In the second half, we played hard as a team and
showed we’re capable of coming back because we were down 20
(points) at one time,” Cockerill said.
Meridian opened the game’s scoring with three straight buckets,
taking a 6-0 lead as Jordening, Michelle Dutton and Amber Hansel
all scored from the field. Sterling’s Kala Weber stopped the
run with a three-point goal and then tacked on a single free throw,
making it a 6-4 contest. A Lady Mustang bucket by Dutton was
answered by Sterling’s Courtney VanGroningen with a three.
VanGroningen’s trey made it an 8-7 game with 3:47 left in the first
quarter. The Lady Mustangs then took off on an 8-0 run as
Amber Hansel scored twice from the field and Amanda Hansel and
Jordening added a two-point goal each. With 1:34 left in the
period, Weber connected from behind the arc for the Lady Jets,
making it a 16-10 contest. Meridian finished out the quarter
with field goals by Sondra McCord and Jordening, taking a 20-10
lead.
Amanda Hansel opened the second-quarter scoring with a bucket,
which Weber answered for Sterling with a two. Field goals by
Amanda Hansel and Hofstetter put Meridian up 26-12 with 4:41 left
in the second period. Sterling’s Willow Hunt scored from the
field and Meridian’s Dutton hit a single charity toss. A
three-pointer by Hunt pulled the Lady Jets back within 10 points,
27-17, with 2:45 left in the quarter. Meridian’s Amber Hansel
then scored three straight points on three trips to the free-throw
line. She then doubled that production by hitting a three-point
goal, giving Meridian a 33-17 lead. VanGroningen finished out
the second-quarter scoring with a bucket for Sterling.
At halftime, the Lady Mustangs led 33-19. Hofstetter hit two
free throws for Meridian to open the third-quarter scoring, but
VanGroningen answered with a field goal for Sterling. The
Lady Mustangs scored the next six points as Amber Hansel scored
twice from the field and Amanda Hansel once. With 5:53 left
in the period, Meridian led by 20 points, 41-21. A
two-pointer by Sterling’s Kaylee Agena was answered by Amanda
Hansel with a two. Sterling then made a run at the Lady
Mustangs.
Stephanie Heusman hit a two-pointer for the Lady Jets, Weber
connected on a single free throw and A.J. Magill scored from behind
the arc, making it a 43-29 contest. A two-pointer by
Hofstetter for Meridian was answered at the line by Sterling’s
Kelci Lowmack with two free throws. Amanda Hansel hit a
two-pointer, which was also answered by the Lady Jets’ Weber with a
pair of charity tosses. Finishing out the third-quarter
scoring, Jordening scored a bucket for Meridian and VanGroningen
hit from the field for Sterling. After three quarters of
play, Meridian led 49-35.
A two-pointer by Sterling’s VanGroningen to open the fourth-quarter
scoring was answered by Meridian’s Amber Hansel with a two.
Sterling then scored six straight points on a three-pointer by
Hunt, a two by Agena and a free throw by Weber. With 6:30
left in the game, the Lady Jets had cut Meridian’s lead to eight
points, 51-43. A single free throw by Amanda Hansel was
answered by a single charity toss by Weber. Hofstetter hit a
two-pointer for Meridian, but VanGroningen responded by sinking a
three for Sterling, making it a seven-point game, 54-47.
During the next stretch, Meridian went 1-for-5 from the free-throw
line with Jordening hitting the single charity toss. A bucket
by Jordening with 3:20 left gave Meridian back a 10-point
lead. Weber hit a three for Sterling, but Dutton answered
with two free throws, Amanda Hansel and Hofstetter with single
charity tosses and Jordening with a two-pointer. With 1:04
remaining, Meridian led 63-50. Jamie Erickson scored from the
field for Sterling. A single free throw by VanGroningen was
sandwiched between single charity tosses by Amanda Hansel and
Hofstetter. Meridian finished out the game’s scoring with a
bucket by Jordening.
Sterling was led offensively by Weber with 17 points and
VanGroningen with 15.
Sterling, 8-9, returns to action Friday at Stella-Southeast
Consolidated.
