BLANCHARDVILLE - Argyle senior point guard Kayla Ostby is used to being in the middle of the action.
Argyle girls basketball coach Kurt Ritschard moved Ostby to the back of the fullcourt press and it paid off on Thursday against Pecatonica.
Ostby scored 10 points and had eight steals to propel the Orioles to a 57-39 win over the Vikings. Pecatonica (0-5, 0-2 Six Rivers East) committed a stunning 37 turnovers.
"It has been a point of emphasis between Kayla and I to have her play better defense this year," Ritschard said. "We moved her to the back of the press where she could gamble more and use her speed to get steals. We just thought we had an advantage with the press. We wanted to force as many turnovers as we could early. Give the girls credit for getting up for this game, especially since it's a rivalry. I'm just very pleased we didn't let up."
Ostby had plenty of help. Argyle junior Jessica Treuthardt scored a game-high 16 points and senior Kim Pink added a career-high 11 points.
"It's always a rivalry," Treuthardt said of playing against Pecatonica. It always feels good to win. We practiced finishing with contact this week. We knew it was going to be a physical and we did it (finished shots with contact)."
Argyle (3-3, 2-0) used the fullcourt press to ignite a 14-0 first-quarter run. Ostby had back-to-back steals and layups to spark the Orioles. Argyle sophomore Jenna Langmeier hit a jumper and Treuthardt scored down low to give the Orioles a 10-0 lead with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first. The Vikings had 12 turnovers in the first quarter and 19 in the first half. Pecatonica went more than 5 minutes without a point. Pecatonica junior Alexandra Ihm snapped the cold spell by scoring down low at 2:54 and was fouled on the play. She converted the conventional three-point play by knocking down the free throw.
Pecatonica coach Matt Bakkum was surprised the Vikings struggled breaking the press.
"I think we played terrible in every facet of the game," Bakkum said. "We run against a press every day in practice. Most of the time we are competent and pretty good at it. Tonight, it looked like we had never seen a press. The entire thing broke down."
When the Vikings did have an open shot in the first half, they struggled shooting going 3-for-21 (14.2 percent). The Orioles used a 10-0 spurt in the second quarter to build a 30-5 lead. Pecatonica senior Emma Marion closed the second quarter with a spark as she drilled a 3-pointer just a couple of feet from halfcourt to beat the buzzer and cut the Orioles' halftime lead to 22 points.
The Vikings chipped away at the deficit and used a 10-2 third quarter run to battle back keyed by their own fullcourt press. Pecatonica senior Ashley Johnsen scored two baskets down low during the surge to help the Vikings. Johnsen scored on a layup with 3:31 to go in the third quarter to cut the Orioles' lead to 32-18.
The Orioles struggled breaking the press and committed 17 of their 30 turnovers in the second half.
"I just think Pec put a lot more pressure on us in the second half," Ritschard said. "We didn't make smart decisions and good passes. We were making overhead passes and passing from the hip. We have to focus on that (taking care of the basketball) before we play Barneveld on Tuesday."
Ritschard was excited to see the balanced scoring and a career-high from Pink.
"Our philosophy is it's a lot harder to guard five than two," he said. "We want to develop each one of them into threats."
Pecatonica senior Michelle Francois scored a team-high 11 points and senior Lizzy Britt scored 10 points. Francois drilled a 3-pointer with 2:25 to go in the fourth quarter to cut the Orioles' lead to 11 points, but that is as close as the Vikings would get.
Bakkum isn't convinced that the Vikings are just a second-half team.
"I'm not buying that we always come back from a deficit in the second half," Bakkum said. "Anyone can play without pressure. Teams that are going to grow have to be able to play when there is pressure."
Argyle girls basketball coach Kurt Ritschard moved Ostby to the back of the fullcourt press and it paid off on Thursday against Pecatonica.
Ostby scored 10 points and had eight steals to propel the Orioles to a 57-39 win over the Vikings. Pecatonica (0-5, 0-2 Six Rivers East) committed a stunning 37 turnovers.
"It has been a point of emphasis between Kayla and I to have her play better defense this year," Ritschard said. "We moved her to the back of the press where she could gamble more and use her speed to get steals. We just thought we had an advantage with the press. We wanted to force as many turnovers as we could early. Give the girls credit for getting up for this game, especially since it's a rivalry. I'm just very pleased we didn't let up."
Ostby had plenty of help. Argyle junior Jessica Treuthardt scored a game-high 16 points and senior Kim Pink added a career-high 11 points.
"It's always a rivalry," Treuthardt said of playing against Pecatonica. It always feels good to win. We practiced finishing with contact this week. We knew it was going to be a physical and we did it (finished shots with contact)."
Argyle (3-3, 2-0) used the fullcourt press to ignite a 14-0 first-quarter run. Ostby had back-to-back steals and layups to spark the Orioles. Argyle sophomore Jenna Langmeier hit a jumper and Treuthardt scored down low to give the Orioles a 10-0 lead with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first. The Vikings had 12 turnovers in the first quarter and 19 in the first half. Pecatonica went more than 5 minutes without a point. Pecatonica junior Alexandra Ihm snapped the cold spell by scoring down low at 2:54 and was fouled on the play. She converted the conventional three-point play by knocking down the free throw.
Pecatonica coach Matt Bakkum was surprised the Vikings struggled breaking the press.
"I think we played terrible in every facet of the game," Bakkum said. "We run against a press every day in practice. Most of the time we are competent and pretty good at it. Tonight, it looked like we had never seen a press. The entire thing broke down."
When the Vikings did have an open shot in the first half, they struggled shooting going 3-for-21 (14.2 percent). The Orioles used a 10-0 spurt in the second quarter to build a 30-5 lead. Pecatonica senior Emma Marion closed the second quarter with a spark as she drilled a 3-pointer just a couple of feet from halfcourt to beat the buzzer and cut the Orioles' halftime lead to 22 points.
The Vikings chipped away at the deficit and used a 10-2 third quarter run to battle back keyed by their own fullcourt press. Pecatonica senior Ashley Johnsen scored two baskets down low during the surge to help the Vikings. Johnsen scored on a layup with 3:31 to go in the third quarter to cut the Orioles' lead to 32-18.
The Orioles struggled breaking the press and committed 17 of their 30 turnovers in the second half.
"I just think Pec put a lot more pressure on us in the second half," Ritschard said. "We didn't make smart decisions and good passes. We were making overhead passes and passing from the hip. We have to focus on that (taking care of the basketball) before we play Barneveld on Tuesday."
Ritschard was excited to see the balanced scoring and a career-high from Pink.
"Our philosophy is it's a lot harder to guard five than two," he said. "We want to develop each one of them into threats."
Pecatonica senior Michelle Francois scored a team-high 11 points and senior Lizzy Britt scored 10 points. Francois drilled a 3-pointer with 2:25 to go in the fourth quarter to cut the Orioles' lead to 11 points, but that is as close as the Vikings would get.
Bakkum isn't convinced that the Vikings are just a second-half team.
"I'm not buying that we always come back from a deficit in the second half," Bakkum said. "Anyone can play without pressure. Teams that are going to grow have to be able to play when there is pressure."
