Bearcats girls lose first two basketball games
By Mark Johnson, coach
KCC 39 – BGMR 62
The Bearcats took to the road Monday, Dec. 6 and headed east to take on the BGMR Gators in an early season North Border Conference matchup. The two teams split last season’s series, and each was looking to get the upper hand in this year’s head-to-head contests.
The first half was a closely played contest through a good portion. The Gators held a 19-15 advantage about two-thirds of the way through the opening half but outscored the Bearcats 8-2 to close the first half action and held a 27-17 lead at the break.
The second half followed a similar script to the first. KCC stayed within striking distance but was never able to make a significant dent in the Gators lead. BGMR pulled away in the final 10 minutes of the game, while the Bearcats could not consistently string together enough good possessions to threaten the Gators.
Scoring leaders: Ella Olson 11, Aidra Johnson 7, Morgan Turn 7, Elsa Steen 6, Jenna Davis 4, Cheyanne Scalese 2, Emma Sjostrand 2
Rebound leaders: Cheyanne Scalese 8, Emma Sjostrand 6, Ella Olson 4
Assist leaders: Morgan Turn 5
KCC 36 – GG 46
KCC returned to the court Friday, Dec. 10 in Lancaster against the Grygla-Goodridge Chargers. The Bearcats had plans to get their first win of the season, while the Chargers had their sights on claiming that win for themselves.
The first half was a dumpster fire for the Bearcats. Sixteen turnovers led directly to 15 Chargers points combined with 4-18 shooting by the home team all added up to see the Bearcats trail 26-8 at the end of the first half.
The Bearcats responded a bit in the second half of play and managed to outpace the Chargers 28-20 in but were unable to overcome the hole they had dug in the first half of play. Turnovers were reduced in the second half and the only points the Chargers managed off those turnovers was a single free throw.
We struggled with our decision making and shooting in the first half of play. The good news is that it improved a bit in the second half.
The bad news is we dug such a deep hole in the first half we couldn’t get out of it in the second. It isn’t the start to the season we were hoping to have, but we will improve and learn from these first few games.
Scoring leaders: Ella Olson 15, Morgan Turn 8, Elsa Steen 5, Jenna Davis 4, Cheyanne Scalese 4
Rebound leaders: Cheyanne Scalese 5, Jenna Davis 5, Ella Olson 4, Morgan Turn 3
Assist leaders: Jenna Davis 6, Elsa Steen 3
