ALBANY - The scoreboard said the Albany girls basketball team finished on the wrong end of a 62-44 trouncing administered by Benton-Shullsburg on Monday night.
But when you are the head coach of a program with low numbers and without a ton of experience, the picture can appear quite different.
For Albany coach Bryce Pickett, the non-conference loss was about the Comets looking as good offensively as they have all season. And for that, Felicia Conley was largely to thank.
The sophomore guard erupted for a varsity-high 17 points, making her the top scorer in the game. Not bad for a player whom Pickett said had scored no more than "four or five points" in any game this season.
"I think offensively, it was probably one of the better games we've played all year," Pickett said. "It was finally nice to see Felicia Conley come out and put a bunch of points up for us.
"That was a big night for her and she's always had that potential. We've talked to her a lot at practice, we've been working with her a lot. It was just a confidence thing for her knowing that when she gets those opportunities, she needs to take them. Now that I've seen it, I expect it from her the rest of the year."
Conley hit two jumpers in the opening minutes to account for Albany's first four points, and she scored in the paint in the second quarter.
She then drilled three
3-pointers in the second half, and only a toe on the line kept that from being four.
Conley said she definitely was looking for her shot more often Monday, bolstered by the Comets' solid effort in a seven-point loss to Monticello on Friday.
"I felt more confident than usual," Conley said. "We played against Monticello in one of our closest games we've had this year, and I was just coming out (Monday) thinking we were going to win."
Conley acknowledged that Pickett implores her to look for her shot more often.
"Yeah, he always does," she said. "When I shoot I just feel like a ball hog. I don't want to be a person who just shoots and doesn't pass it off and stuff. I know to shoot more, but I don't want to do it all."
Benton-Shullsburg coach Nathan Russell thinks Conley should shoot more, too.
"She's got a good little shot, and that's an understatement," Russell said. "We scouted them and she really hadn't scored a lot coming into this game, but she really lit the scoreboard up tonight.
"That left wing - she just buried it from there time and time again."
Junior forward Kirstie Kauk added 13 points for the Comets (1-9). Albany's leading scorer, junior guard Cassidy Bump, took a blow to the face in the first half and finished with six points - four of them coming in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Sarah Redfearn scored 15 points and junior Blaire Lutes added 14 for Benton-Shullsburg (5-5), which played without injured starter Stephanie Roberts (back spasms).
Benton-Shullsburg seized control with a 16-6 run to start the second quarter and led 34-20 at halftime. The closest the Comets got in the second half was 13 points entering the fourth quarter.
Pickett wasn't happy with the Comets' defensive effort, but said an encouraging offensive performance - especially on a night when Bump had an off game - bodes well moving forward.
"That's kind of what we've been looking for all year," Pickett said. "We put a lot of pressure on Cassidy to do our scoring for us. It's good finally to see the other girls step up. When the freshmen got in, they put some shots up too, and that's really good to see.
"The biggest thing I want to take out of this as a positive is yeah, we had some girls step up, and we've been waiting for them to do that."
But when you are the head coach of a program with low numbers and without a ton of experience, the picture can appear quite different.
For Albany coach Bryce Pickett, the non-conference loss was about the Comets looking as good offensively as they have all season. And for that, Felicia Conley was largely to thank.
The sophomore guard erupted for a varsity-high 17 points, making her the top scorer in the game. Not bad for a player whom Pickett said had scored no more than "four or five points" in any game this season.
"I think offensively, it was probably one of the better games we've played all year," Pickett said. "It was finally nice to see Felicia Conley come out and put a bunch of points up for us.
"That was a big night for her and she's always had that potential. We've talked to her a lot at practice, we've been working with her a lot. It was just a confidence thing for her knowing that when she gets those opportunities, she needs to take them. Now that I've seen it, I expect it from her the rest of the year."
Conley hit two jumpers in the opening minutes to account for Albany's first four points, and she scored in the paint in the second quarter.
She then drilled three
3-pointers in the second half, and only a toe on the line kept that from being four.
Conley said she definitely was looking for her shot more often Monday, bolstered by the Comets' solid effort in a seven-point loss to Monticello on Friday.
"I felt more confident than usual," Conley said. "We played against Monticello in one of our closest games we've had this year, and I was just coming out (Monday) thinking we were going to win."
Conley acknowledged that Pickett implores her to look for her shot more often.
"Yeah, he always does," she said. "When I shoot I just feel like a ball hog. I don't want to be a person who just shoots and doesn't pass it off and stuff. I know to shoot more, but I don't want to do it all."
Benton-Shullsburg coach Nathan Russell thinks Conley should shoot more, too.
"She's got a good little shot, and that's an understatement," Russell said. "We scouted them and she really hadn't scored a lot coming into this game, but she really lit the scoreboard up tonight.
"That left wing - she just buried it from there time and time again."
Junior forward Kirstie Kauk added 13 points for the Comets (1-9). Albany's leading scorer, junior guard Cassidy Bump, took a blow to the face in the first half and finished with six points - four of them coming in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Sarah Redfearn scored 15 points and junior Blaire Lutes added 14 for Benton-Shullsburg (5-5), which played without injured starter Stephanie Roberts (back spasms).
Benton-Shullsburg seized control with a 16-6 run to start the second quarter and led 34-20 at halftime. The closest the Comets got in the second half was 13 points entering the fourth quarter.
Pickett wasn't happy with the Comets' defensive effort, but said an encouraging offensive performance - especially on a night when Bump had an off game - bodes well moving forward.
"That's kind of what we've been looking for all year," Pickett said. "We put a lot of pressure on Cassidy to do our scoring for us. It's good finally to see the other girls step up. When the freshmen got in, they put some shots up too, and that's really good to see.
"The biggest thing I want to take out of this as a positive is yeah, we had some girls step up, and we've been waiting for them to do that."
