Coach Schofield and the 4-0 Bruin girls basketball team had a rare Saturday afternoon contest this last weekend, hosting a well prepared and disciplined Sutherlin Lady Bulldog team coming off of a 9 game win streak and sitting 5-0 in league play.
Both teams had played the evening before, with the Lady Bulldogs beating South Umpqua on the road and the Bruin girls defeating Cascade Christian, in Medford, Friday evening.
From the opening tip, the Lady Bulldogs attacked the Bruin girls offense, applying a full press, effectively keeping the the Bruin girls from establishing any offensive continuity as the Bruin girls struggled to get the ball out of their own back court.
The stifling Lady Bulldog defense allowed only three Bruin girls to score in the first period of play, as the Bruin girls offense tried to match the inside play of the Lady Bulldogs getting 4 hard fought points from #15 Marissa Scott under the basket to lead the Bruins to 9 points in the period.
But the Bruin girls defense had no answer for Sutherlin’s junior point guard Micah Wicks #2, who hit for 6 points in the period and established the Lady Bulldog game plan to challenge the Bruin girls interior defense, driving into the key and getting to the line twice. The Lady Bulldogs got to the line 13 times in the opening period, going 9 of 13 on their way to a 9-17 first quarter lead.
In the second period, Sutherlin continued the defensive full court press, trapping the Bruin girls when the picked up their dribble in the back court, and running off of the Bruin girls turnovers, holding the Bruins offense to just one basket from guard Zoe Carlson #11 in the second period, and sending the Bruin girls to the line when they got inside the lane.
The Bruin girl defense only allowed three Lady Bulldogs on the scoreboard in the second period, however, Sutherlin’s guard again led all scorers in the period, hitting two baskets, a 3 pointer and two free-throws on the Lady Bulldogs way to 13 points in the period, and a 16-30 lead at the half-time break.
With point guard Rockette Marrington #12, sitting on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half of play for the Bruin girls, the girls came out determined after the break, attacking offensively with Marrington leading the Bruin girls with 5 points including a 3 pointer. Five Bruin girls got in the scorebook for their highest point output in the game, hitting for 14 points as a team from both the inside and the perimeter.
The Lady Bulldogs went into the final period with a commanding 30-47 lead after dropping 17 points of their own in the third, and started the fourth period just as they started the game, with a suffocating full court press, holding the Bruin girls to just 5 points in the period, all from the outside from Charlie Nolte #10, and a 3 pointer from #11, Zoe Carlson.
The Bruin girls defense allowed another 11 points in the final period, as the Lady Bulldogs went on to take the 32-50 win, handing the Bruin girls their first league loss of the 2022 season.
Talking with Coach Schofield after the game, “No real secrets tonight,” he said, “Turnovers and poise against pressure made all the difference. They do such a good job of making teams pay for mistakes with layups, and they definitely did that to us. Our kids played hard and kept fighting back, but the points off turnovers killed us.”
The Bruin girls are at home TONIGHT, Monday, January 7th, hosting the Cascade Christian Lady Challengers at 6:00pm at Bruin Arena.
