Anna’s Tori Osborn [right] pulls down a contested rebound. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Howard)
Anna, OH – Two minutes into Anna and Russia’s rematch, the Lady Raiders had cruised to a 7-0 lead with a perfect six-possession sequence: three takeaways, and three buckets.
The Rockets had lost once already to Russia, and what kind of tone for the night did a 7-0 run set? There was every reason to believe it just wasn’t Anna’s night.
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But they didn’t buy that. They decided to play the final 30 minutes anyway, ya know, just in case. And they chose wisely, because by the time they allowed Russia to hit another field goal, the third quarter had begun, and Anna led by double digits.
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They survived Russia’s second-half three-point barrage, and clung to a 36-31 revenge win over the SCAL leaders
Anna (9-6, 6-2 SCAL) now trails both Russia (12-3, 7-1 SCAL) and Fort Loramie by a game, and gets another crack at the Redskins, who snuck by the Rockets 40-37 the first bout. Russia and Fort Loramie both control their own destiny in terms of the league title, and will meet in Fort Loramie for the season finale, where Russia hopes to end an eight-year title streak for the Lady Redskins.
But if either team falters before that showdown, Anna stands to gain, all because of the finest second quarter you’ll see this season. After giving the rock away three times to start the game, they took it away five times in a row to open the second quarter.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” junior guard Makenzie Mumaw said. They gave themselves plenty to be proud of.
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Mumaw and Tori Osborn harassed Russia’s ball handlers with renewed energy out of the quarter-break huddle.
“We played physical,” Anna head coach Rusty Allen said. “If we execute our game plan and play physical like we did, we can be pretty tough to score against.”
Anna’s Tori Osborn pulls up for a jumper over Russia’s Hazel Francis.
Stale offensive sets in the first quarter relied on 6’2” junior forward Adyson Bales to carry the load, and played into Russia’s defensive strength: staying assignment sound in half-court sets. But Anna’s takeaways created kinetic possessions, allowing Anna’s outsized guards to drive downhill, score layups, and frequent the free throw line.
“Our defense turned into offense,” Bales said. “That’s what really helped us with our offense after the first quarter.”
Russia played three patient quarters on offense, but panic overrode preparation in the second period, and nine turnovers prevented the Raiders from connecting on a single field goal.
“We had to take away their ball-handlers up top,” Mumaw said. ”We came into the game knowing that, but we didn’t do it at the beginning. Once we did that more, we realized our offense can work off of our defense.”
Anna won the second quarter 14-1, which sent a shell-shocked Russia to the locker room trailing 18-10.
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“We got a little complacent,” Russia coach Michael Bashore said. “We got settled in with that lead in the first quarter and thought it was going to be easy from there. And they turned up the defense and started executing better on their end. So you tip your hat to them.”
Mumaw and Osborn scored 11 of Anna’s 14 in the second quarter, while Bales took leave between productive first and third quarters. Russia clearly gameplanned to stop Bales – more often than not by double-teaming her as soon as she got her hands on the basketball. But her gravity sucked in defenders, leaving chinks in the armor for Anna’s guards to exploit.
Anna’s Tori Osborn and Adelynn McVety rip the ball away from Russia’s Celeste Borchers…one of nine second quarter takeaways.
“They were doing some nice things defensively against us,” Allen said. “And it just took us a minute to gain our composure and figure out what, where and when we could attack.”
Mumaw in particular excelled at finding a crevice in the defense, and attacking with quick acceleration before the Raiders could react, usually drawing a foul on a late adjustment by a defender.
Anna made 12/18 free throws, whereas Russia hit just 5/10.
As glad as they were to lead 18-10, reality dictated Anna find another way to maintain the lead. Not even the New York Liberty would expect to take the ball away nine times per quarter against Russia. So Anna found another way.
Just as Russia recomposed itself and settled into the third quarter with a long and controlled, albeit fruitless possession, Bales casually wandered to the top of the arc and buried a three-pointer to make the lead 21-10, and the run 17-1.
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With 6:20 left in the third quarter, Russia’s Callie Goubeaux knocked down a corner three to snap a nearly 16-minute-long field goal drought. And thanks to an impressive first quarter, Russia still had a real chance to win.
Aryana Cordonnier followed suit with a three, then Goubeaux hit again.
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On the other end, Bales replaced transition points with results on the block. Nothing flashy, but enough to retain a 27-23 lead after three quarters.
Despite what was likely Russia’s worst 16-minute stretch of the season, a pair of Cordonnier triples tied the basketball game at 29 with four minutes to play.
“We just started focusing better,” Bashore said. “We did a better job of executing where we weren’t in the first half, and had some girls step up and make shots. So we did a nice job clawing our way back.”
Cordonnier and Hazel Francis co-led the Radiers with 11 points.
To varying degrees, Russia outplayed Anna in three of four quarters, but Anna had all it needed: the second quarter, plus just a bit more the rest of the way.
Anna’s Tied at 29, Bales posted up and attracted the attention of an extra defender, even without the ball. That gave Mumaw all the space she needed to catch and fire a three-point swish to retake the lead. They didn’t relinquish it again. She hit four free throws down the stretch to clamp the 36-31 revenge victory.
Mumaw led all scorers with 13 points, including seven of Anna’s nine in the fourth quarter. Bales scored 12, and Osborn tallied seven.
With the margin for error erased, Russia will travel to Jackson Center to regroup before a tough stretch to end the season, capped with a trip to Fort Loramie.
And now peeking into the cracked door, Anna travels to Houston. If second-quarter Anna shows up, Houston’s gonna have a problem.
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