Hot-shooting Orange overwhelms Lady Gales
LEWIS CENTER — Blame it on being off for several days because of COVID protocols or playing a second game in less than 24 hours, it probably didn’t matter with the way Olentangy Orange shot the ball against the visiting Lancaster girls’ basketball team Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Gales were coming off a double-digit Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division win at home against Central Crossing on Friday night, and that was after having only one practice after being off for more than a week.
Lancaster came out a little sluggish and didn’t have time to catch its breath as the Pioneers shot the lights in the first quarter, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the field, and they continued to stay hot throughout the game and cruised to a 61-29 non-conference win over the Gales.
“They came out and got good looks and made them and a lot of our shots were contested,”, Lancaster coach Dusty Miller said. We had some good looks early and just didn’t make them. They got off to a hot start, and when you get a couple of girls making shots that usually don't make shots, a team feeds off that.
“We tried everything we could do, and they just kept making shot after shot. It was just one of those games.”
Just how hot were the Pioneers? They connected on 24 of 37 shots from the field, including going 8-for-10 in the first quarter and 14 of 19 in the first half.
Orange (7-11) raced out to a 12-0 lead before the Gales’ Jenna Grabans scored to stop the scoring onslaught. The Pioneers made three 3-pointers in the first quarter and led 22-5 heading into the second quarter. Grabans’ 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Gales (8-6) their five first-quarter points.
The Pioneers continued their sizzling shooting by making 6 of 9 from the field in the second quarter to take a 36-11 halftime lead. They made three more 3-pointers in the third quarter and went 7-for-12 from the field to take a 53-21 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Grabans led the Gales with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, and she had seven rebounds. Peyton Wilson added six points, including a 4-of-6 showing at the free throw line.
Miller said it has been tough not being able to practice or play, especially with a young team, but we wanted to quickly put this game behind him and focus on the positives and move forward.
“You never want to use that as an excuse, but it has been tough because we have such a young team,” Miller said. “Regardless of the outcome today, we have to move forward and get back where we were and keep working and getting better and just worry about us.
“This is a fun group to coach, and they love being around each other. They play so hard, and the key for us is just playing hard every possession, and today, I don’t know if we did that. Our legs aren’t quite where they need to be, and it showed.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Hot-shooting Orange overwhelms Lady Gales
