| Bowling Green’s Alyssa Kopp passes to teammate Jenna Stoner (11) under heavy pressure from Rossford’s Elizabeth Parisi, Abbey Geraghty, and Alaina Mitchell. (Photo: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune) |
Saturday night, the fans at Bowling Green high school found out just how important free throws can be.
With a two-point lead and 1:15 remaining in regulation, the Bobcats converted 4-of-4 shots from the
charity stripe to clinch a 45-43 victory over Northern Lakes League opponent Rossford.
The Bobcats beat Rossford for the second time this season, improving to 9-6 overall and 3-6 in the NLL.
Rossford fell to 7-8, 3-6.
“We challenged the kids about three weeks ago because we were not shooting the ball very well and at the
foul line,” said BG head coach Jeff Nichols. “Those are huge because if you don’t make those and they
(Rossford) get finishes, then it’s a different ball game.”
BG’s defense came through down the stretch as it pressured the Bulldogs and forced three key turnovers in
the final three minutes of the game, allowing the Bobcats to keep their slim lead.
“Haley Glandorff is probably one of our better fundamental defensive players and we were trying to get
her in to try to get some ball pressure and get some defensive switches and she was able to do that. We
got some deflections and some turnovers and it prevented them from getting attacks at the basket,”
Nichols said.
The Bobcats fell behind early as Rossford took a 14-5 lead in the first quarter.
In that span, BG shot only 2-of-12 (17 percent) from the field and committed four turnovers.
“We came out uninspired,” Nichols said. “In the kids mind, since we came out and beat them the last time
… we thought it was going to kind of roll our way. But they (Rossford) came ready to play and so we
used a timeout or two to try to light a fire.”
After the opening period, Nichols told his team the defense had to improve or “they were going to be in
for a long night.”
The Bobcats responded in a big way.
In the second quarter, BG looked to be a completely different team with loads of energy, resulting in a
16-0 run which gave BG a 21-14 lead.
Marissa Milligan sparked BG’s run, scoring six of her 13 points over a span of nearly five minutes.
“In the second quarter, we got away from the things we did in the first quarter,” Rossford head coach
Kevin Mitchell said. “Give them (BG) credit. They made some adjustments, too, and then they pressed and
got some steals and did some things there. But certainly the second quarter was the tale of the tape.”
BG’s Hayley Williford was a threat throughout the night as she scored a game-high 20 points, which
included two key baskets and a free throw in the final quarter.
To start the third quarter, things began to, again, look bleak for BG.
Rossford out-scored the Bobcats 12-4 in the third quarter which included a 10-0 scoring run that lasted
all but the final 56 seconds of the period.
The Bobcats didn’t give in as they and Rossford traded baskets before Glandorff broke free in the final
moments of the quarter, scoring her only field goal of the game which tied the score at 30.
The Bulldogs regained a one-point lead in the fourth after Courtney Trenchik (nine points) hit her only
3-point basket of the contest.
Williford then gave the Bobcats a three-point cushion, knocking down a 2-point basket just 25 seconds
after teammate Jenna Stoner (four points) made her second field goal of the night.
BG won the junior varsity game 36-25. Hanna Williford led the Bobcats with 18 points, while Courtney
Morris led Rossford with eight.
BGHS 45, ROSSFORD 43
ROSSFORD
Hotz, 0-0—0; Jackson, 0-0—0; Kanary, 4-0—8; A. Geraghty, 4-1—9; K. Geraghty, 1-1-2—7; Trenchik, 3-1-0—9;
Mitchell, 5-0—10. TOTALS: 17-2-3—43.
BGHS
Glandorff, 1-2—4; Stoner, 2-0—4; Williford, 6-2-2—20; Vazquez, 0-0—0; Milligan, 4-5—13; Kopp, 2-0—4.
TOTALS: 15-2-9—45.
ROSSFORD 14 4 12 13 —43
BGHS 5 21 4 15 —45
Junior varsity: BG, 36-25.
