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| North Bend’s Alexandra Mateski looks for some help from another Bulldog as Ashley Davis, left, and another Trojan look to steal the ball during the second half Tuesday. World Photo by Lou Sennick. |
North Bend uses 18-point run to set up easy victory
By Joe Hansen, Sports Writer
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 11:04 AM PST
NORTH BEND — The Douglas girls basketball team scored the first two points of the Far West League opener Tuesday night, but the Bulldogs scored the next 18.
North Bend’s 18-0 run lasted well into the second quarter, the Bulldogs went into halftime up 24-8 and cruised to a 1-0 Far West start with a 47-25 victory over the visiting Trojans.
“We came out ready to play,” said North Bend workhorse guard Alexandra “Super” Mateski. “This was one of our best games.”
Mateski had an impressive performance for the Bulldogs, much of which won’t show up in a linescore anywhere: She had nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, two assists and countless tipped balls, defensive stands and hustle plays.
Brooke Davison filled her usual role as scoring leader for North Bend with 16 points, but the Bulldogs won this game with defense. Davison also tallied six steals, five rebounds and four assists.
Using a full-court press and aggressive zone, North Bend held Douglas to just two points in the first quarter and essentially put the game on ice by building a 16-point lead at the half.
“I just think we’re playing really good defense,” said Bulldogs coach Mike Forrester. “And Super (Mateski) just does a phenomenal job. She’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever coached.”
North Bend took advantage of poor ball handling by Douglas to jump out to an early 7-2 lead after the first quarter. In the second, the Bulldogs brought their press, and the Trojans had stretches where they could hardly inbound the ball without turning it over.
North Bend then went on a tear, holding Douglas scoreless until Stacia Blankenship gathered an offensive rebound and scored the putback with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter. At that point, the count was 18-4.
“We just couldn’t get any rhythm. Add that in with all our turnovers, and you see what happened,” said stunned Douglas coach Jason Dickover. “When you go on the road and get down like that, there’s this ‘wow’ factor. You don’t want to put yourself in that situation.”
The third quarter was more of the same, as the Bulldogs held the Trojans to five points, built a 37-15 lead and coasted to the win.
North Bend held Blankenship, a returning all-league post player, to a team-high nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.
“We did a good job stopping her tonight,” said Forrester.
North Bend’s Taylor Weidman, who was coming off 19- and 16-point performances in the past two games, was scoreless on the night but chipped in with three blocks and five rebounds. Asha Mitchell gave the Bulldogs a spark off the bench with 11 points, six of which came from steals that led to easy buckets. |