OVMS Lady Patriot continue 2021-2022 season
The Owen Valley Middle School seventh and eighth grade girls' basketball teams took on the Shakamak Lakers, Eastern Greene Thunderbirds and Bloomfield Cardinals recently with much success.
In the seventh grade games, the Lady Patriots defeated Shakamak, 42-18.
"The girls had another great game. They did a great job executing our offense against the zone defense and were able to penetrate the middle and get good looks at the basket. We also had another great night defensively pressuring the ball and creating turnovers," OVMS 7th grade coach Caitlin Leichter said. "We are still working on getting the rebound and not allowing the other team to get second chance shots, but I’m very proud of the girls for playing well as a team and the effort they’ve been putting in."
Hannah Bixler led in scoring with 14 points, followed by Haley Amador with 10, Bri Cunningham six, Addy Applegate four, Addison Mayle four, Abi Hunsicker two and Kenzie Limeberry two.
OV took on Eastern Greene, beating the Thunderbirds, 37-19.
"We struggled the first quarter with getting our shots to fall, too many turnovers, and just being sluggish," Coach Leichter noted. "We came out strong and more focused though in the second and third quarters and I’m proud of the grit the girls showed to pull themselves out of the slump."
Once again, the Lady Patriots were led by Bixler with 15, followed by Applegate with eight, Limeberry and Cunningham four each, and Amado, Hunsicker and Aubri Burkett two each.
Owen Valley then took on Bloomfield, winning 37-16.
"We didn’t play our best basketball the first half but after halftime the girls pulled together and came out strong and aggressive," said Coach Leichter.
Bixler led scoring 19 points with Applegate adding seven, Mayle four, Amador three and Limeberry and Cunningham two each.
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The OVMS eighth grade girls' basketball team recently took on St. Charles, Shakamak, Bloomfield and Batchelor, finishing 2-2.
The Lady Patriots fell to St. Charles, 47-8.
"For our second game on the season, we faced another tough opponent. St. Charles was very tenacious on defense and we came out really flat again. It was another wakeup call to the girls," OV 8th grade coach Josh Cunningham said. "Overall, poor passing and a non-existent help side defense by OV led to a one sided offensive effort from St. Charles. This was a game that we decided was best left behind us."
Cammie King led OV with four points with Miley Knieriem had three points and Madi Amick one.
Next, the Lady Patriots took on the Shakamak Lakers, falling 39-27.
"The OV girls went to work during the couple of days of practice before seeing Shakamak. The energy on the defensive side of the ball was really good and the girls were able to see the benefit of their efforts," Coach Cunningham noted. "The OV girls stayed within six points most of the game but were unable to round the corner and close the gap, shooting only 9 for 21 from the free throw line. I was pleased with the defensive effort of Miley Knieriem and some really good help side defense from Lilli Hoy. Mallory Owen went to battle on the boards grabbing multiple rebounds."
Knieriem led the Lady Patriots in scoring with 12 points, followed by King with five, Lizzy Hogan four, Kyra Newby two, Mallory Owen two and Amick two.
On January 20, OV took on Bloomfield, earning a 29-18 victory.
"The girls finally got the monkey off of their back. It felt really good to get a solid win against a decent Bloomfield team," Coach Cunningham said. "The aggression that all the player had on defense was a good turn around from our tough first three games. We were able to hole the cardinals to only eight second half points and clinched a solid 29-18 win.
"We have been working on solid on the ball defense and making sure that we see our man and the ball. Cammie and Miley picked up their offensive effort while Lizzy Hogan ran a solid point position with several players in foul trouble. Lilli Hoy continued to impress with her off the ball defense. Big minutes were played by all of the girls and it was a great team effort to pick up the win."
Knieriem led with nine points, with King adding seven points, Newby five, Amick four, Owen two and Hoy two.
On January 24, OV earned another win, 34-5, over Batchelor.
"The defensive effort was tremendous to start the game against a less than stellar Batchelor team. The pressure applied, held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first three quarters and only gave up five points in the last quarter in route to a blowout 34-5 win. All of the girls saw plenty of quality game time and played very well.
"We need to continue working on our free throw percentage and making the most of our time on the court. With an opponent like Bachelor, it is important to continue honing the things we work on in practice," Cunningham continued. "Our on the ball defense was better with the girls cleaning up some of the silly fouls. Madi Amick, Mallory Owen, and Grace Mascoe dominated the boards, while Lizzy Hogan scored a season high 9 points and handled the defensive pressure well. I could go on and on about the girls and the level of effort that they have played with the last three games. They have all put in valuable minutes. We aren’t a team with a single super star, but rather a team that must work together to achieve the goals we set forth at the beginning of the season.
Hogan and Knieriem led with nine points each, with King adding five, Newby and Amick four, Grace Mascoe added two and Owen one.
This article originally appeared on Evening World: OVMS Lady Patriot continue 2021-2022 season
