Prairie at State: Day 2 notes

HOLY NAMES 62, PRAIRIE 36

Just looking at the final score tells you there were not a whole lot of highlights for the Prairie Falcons in Thursday’s Class 3A state quarterfinal game.

The game was over in the second quarter. But there were a few good moments for the Falcons. …


FINDING A WAY:

Michelle Bolliger was having a difficult time getting the ball in on an inbound play against the tough defense from Holy Names.

But she threw a perfect bounce bass, between the legs of her defender, and Angela Gelhar received the pass and broke the Holy Names’ press.

Bolliger tried the same tactic later in the game, and it would have worked, too, had it come a split second sooner. Officials counted to five, though, before the pass was made.

The between-the-opponent’s-legs pass is not something we see every day, but when it is used, it seems to work. Defenders just aren’t expecting the ball to come that way.

Nice play, Michelle.


AND ONE:

Jackie Lanz, who was noted by her coaches for her effort throughout the night despite the lopsided score, had a gem of a play in the third quarter. 

Getting the ball deep in the backcourt, Lanz took a look at her defender and decided she could beat her.

Lanz dribbled to her right, got side-by-side with her defender, then beat her down the court. No one from Holy Names bothered to help, so Lanz kept going toward the hoop. 

She was fouled as she took her shot, it went down, and she was awarded a free throw. Lanz made it for the three-point play, Prairie’s play of the game.


ALMOST ANOTHER PLAY OF THE GAME:

Jackie Lanz was on the floor, watching the ball go in the hoop, but she slapped the court in frustration because the bucket did not count. 

She had the ball and was being hounded by a defender. Lanz made a perfect pass to Taylor Peacock, who had made a cut to the hoop to get past her defender.

Peacock caught the ball and shot in stride, and the ball went into the hoop. However, a foul was called on Lanz’s defender when she made the pass.

“I was frustrated mostly because, overall, we weren’t playing like ourselves,” Lanz said. “The one time we make a great play, it’s not there.”

The basket was nullified, but it still looked good.


LESSONS:

For this week, the Falcons need to forget about Thursday’s loss. They need to focus instead on their game Friday in the fourth-place semifinals.

But Prairie coach Al Aldridge does not want the Falcons to forget about this loss forever.

“They gotta keep their heads up and understand and learn from this experience because it’s a great lesson,” he said. “It’s about the fifth good lesson this year. Hopefully it will sink in before next year.”

This is Aldridge’s youngest team in years, and he expects to be competing for state titles in the future.

“What goes around comes around,” he said. “We’ll have our day against some of these teams one day.”


 

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