Bearcats girls post two Conference wins
By Mark Johnson
KCC 80 – BGMR 51
The Bearcats jumped on the bus Monday, Dec. 2 and headed east to square off with a familiar foe and conference rival the BGMR Gators. Both teams wanted to get off to a quick start and put the pressure squarely on their opponents’ backs.
The Bearcats sprinted out of the gates in the first half of play. KCC made 52.8% of their field goals in the opening half of play. They knocked down shots from all quadrants of the floor and kept creating great scoring opportunities across the board. The Bearcats posted 51 first-half points, while holding the Gators to just 19 on the other end of the floor. The first half performance from KCC on both offense and defense was crisp, intense and effective.
The Bearcats continued to control the game in the second half and pushed their lead out to 35 points at one time. KCC pulled off their full-court pressure and settled into a half-court style of play to coast to the easy 80-51 win over the Gators. The Bearcats shot a better percentage in the second half at 61.5%, but with the slower pace of play, didn’t have as many overall field goal attempts. The win pushed KCC’s record to 2-0 to start the season.
The girls were dialed in from the jump. We obviously shot the ball very well, but that doesn’t just happen on its own. We kept creating good scoring opportunities on the back of our defense and our shooters knocked down shots when they pulled the trigger. We had 19 assists on 35 made field goals. The girls do an excellent job of finding the open person and making the extra pass.
Scoring leaders: Morgan Turn 33, Greta Kuznia 17, Kaydence White 10, Berlyn Strege 5, Afton Lindgren 4, Kasey Waling, 4, Lily Peterson 3, McKinley Folland 2, Hanna Warnke 2
Rebound leaders: Kaydence White 12, McKinley Folland 5, Afton Lindgren 4, Berlyn Strege 4
Assist leaders: Morgan Turn 5, Hanna Warnke 2, Lily Peterson 2, Berlyn Strege 2, Kaydence White 2, Greta Kuznia 2
KCC 86 – GG 49
KCC returned to their home floor on Friday, Dec. 6 to play host to the Goodridge/Grygla Chargers in another early season conference match-up.
The Bearcats and Chargers battled through the first 16 minutes of the first half of play and sat at a 36-35 score with 1:39 left in the opening half. KCC finished the half on a 9-0 run and posted a 45-35 lead. The Bearcats’ full-court pressure in the first half didn’t have the desired effect that KCC wanted.
The Chargers kept making the right secondary passing decisions and caught the Bearcat pressure in trail positions. To the Chargers’ credit, they turned their press break into layup opportunities and converted those opportunities into points.
The Bearcats came out smoking in the second half and scored the first 21 points to blow the game wide open and built a 66-35 lead. KCC shifted their defensive pressure into a halfcourt 1-3-1 trap and clamped down on the Chargers to force turnovers and transition baskets. The Bearcats stayed dialed in for the rest of the second half of play and cruised to an 86-49 win.
Our aggressive nature got us in trouble in the first half. We overplayed our full-court pressure and kept getting too high on the floor, which in turn gave GG the chance to play over the top of our pressure. They capitalized and kept the game in contention. The burst at the end of the first half and then the explosion to start the second half obviously changed the game and gave us the upper hand. It was good to see that we maintained our composure and remained patient enough to pounce when we dialed in our pressure.
Scoring leaders: Morgan Turn 26, Greta Kuznia 26, Berlyn Strege 9, Kaydence White 7, Lily Peterson 5, Afton Lindgren 5, Hanna Warnke 4, McKinley Folland 2, Aliyah Vig 1, Kasey Waling 1
Rebound leaders: McKinley Folland 8, Kaydence White 4, Afton Lindgren 4
Assist leaders: McKinley Folland 8, Lily Peterson 4, Berlyn Strege 4, Hanna Warnke 3
BEARCAT KAYDENCE WHITE dominates a struggle for the ball in the basketball game against Goodridge/Grygla Chargers in Lancaster on Friday, Dec. 6. White contributed 7 points to the Bearcats’ total. (KC Media Arts photo)
BEARCAT MORGAN TURN blocks at BGMR Gator player during the basketball contest in Greenbush on Monday, Dec. 2. The Bearcats came out victorious with Turn contributing 33 of the team’s 80 points. (KC Media Arts photo)
BEARCAT BERLYN STREGE goes in for the layup against the BGMR Gators during basketball action on Monday, Dec. 2. The Bearcats sank the Gators in their own swamp with a victory of 80-51. (KC Media Arts photo)
