ALBANY - With a teammate at the free throw line and the Comets clinging to a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Albany sophomore Marley Malkow had a flashback to the fire house free throw drill.
Albany sophomore Sydnee Woyak made two free throws with 22.8 seconds to go to help the Comets hang on to a nail-biting 37-35 win over Pecatonica Tuesday. The fire house free throw drill requires players to shoot a one-and-one free throw at each basket in practice. If they miss, the player has to run the length of the court and do push-ups. Albany (2-13, 2-5 Six Rivers East) shot 43.2 percent at the free throw line (16 of 37), but made them when it mattered most. There was no need for push-ups late in the final 22 seconds as the Comets made 3 of 4 free throws to seal the win.
"It (making free throws) kind of takes the pressure off," said Malkow, who scored a game-high 13 points and had 12 rebounds. "It finally paid off. It feels great getting the win, especially not being last place in the conference."
The Vikings (0-13, 0-5) stormed back from a 14-point deficit, but couldn't pull out a comeback win.
"It's tough when we are still searching for our first win," Pecatonica coach Scott Carlson said. "We have to keep forging forward. All you can do is stay together and keep working hard."
Early on, the Comets looked like they would run away with the win. Albany senior Felicia Conley drilled a 3-pointer and Malkow scored down low to give the Comets a 7-0 lead to start the first quarter. Malkow scored 10 points in the first half and the Comets led by as many as 14 points after Woyak's jumper gave them a 17-3 lead with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left in the second quarter.
Pecatonica went about 15 minutes without a basket in the first half. Pecatonica junior Emily Scoville scored on a layup with 1:15 to snap the cold spell to cut the Comets' lead to 17-6. The Vikings shot just 1 of 24 in the first half.
"We just couldn't get the lid off the basket," Carlson said. "We missed a lot of bunnies. We were attacking the basket and fading away."
It was a complete turnaround in the second half for the Vikings. The Vikings switched to a fullcourt press and went on an 11-1 run sparked by senior Alexandra Ihm and junior Lexee Ruegsegger. Ruegsegger knocked down a 3-pointer and hit a jumper to ignite the surge. Ihm scored on a conventional three-point play with 5:03 left in the third quarter to slice the Comets' lead to 19-17. The Vikings forced the Comets into 17 of their 25 turnovers in the second half. Ihm scored all 11 of her team-high points in the second half and Scoville added seven points.
"I wanted to play a press so we could get some deflections and make them create some of their own turnovers," Carlson said. "I thought it pushed them out and took them out from where they wanted to run their pick and roll. I think it enthused a few people and we got more fluid on offense."
The Vikings switched to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter and that helped slow down Malkow from scoring inside.
"As we go Malkow needs to go," Albany coach Adam Wamsley said. "If we can get her down low and get the ball into her we can get her going. We have got better at being stronger with the ball."
Malkow understands that she will see some more zone defenses the more she scores in the paint.
"It just kind of stinks when they go to a zone because I usually get double teamed," she said. "It always opens someone else up."
It helped when the shots started falling. Both teams reached the double bonus with 3:30 left in the third quarter and then it became a free throw shooting contest of who could get to the line.
"I thought Alexandra did a really good job of taking the ball to the rim in the second half," Carlson said.
Ihm hit a jumper with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Comets' lead to 30-28. She then scored on a layup to tie the game at 30 with 3:25 to go in the period. The Vikings battled back to take a short-lived one point lead. That is when Albany answered when Malkow scored on a layup with 2:51 to go to give the Comets a 33-31 lead. The Comets withstood the rally by making just enough free throws down the stretch.
Woyak scored nine points for the Comets and Conley added seven points.
"We had some turnovers," Wamsley said. "It's kind of been the story of our season - adversity. We obviously have to do a better job with free throws. We came back and that shows character."
Albany sophomore Sydnee Woyak made two free throws with 22.8 seconds to go to help the Comets hang on to a nail-biting 37-35 win over Pecatonica Tuesday. The fire house free throw drill requires players to shoot a one-and-one free throw at each basket in practice. If they miss, the player has to run the length of the court and do push-ups. Albany (2-13, 2-5 Six Rivers East) shot 43.2 percent at the free throw line (16 of 37), but made them when it mattered most. There was no need for push-ups late in the final 22 seconds as the Comets made 3 of 4 free throws to seal the win.
"It (making free throws) kind of takes the pressure off," said Malkow, who scored a game-high 13 points and had 12 rebounds. "It finally paid off. It feels great getting the win, especially not being last place in the conference."
The Vikings (0-13, 0-5) stormed back from a 14-point deficit, but couldn't pull out a comeback win.
"It's tough when we are still searching for our first win," Pecatonica coach Scott Carlson said. "We have to keep forging forward. All you can do is stay together and keep working hard."
Early on, the Comets looked like they would run away with the win. Albany senior Felicia Conley drilled a 3-pointer and Malkow scored down low to give the Comets a 7-0 lead to start the first quarter. Malkow scored 10 points in the first half and the Comets led by as many as 14 points after Woyak's jumper gave them a 17-3 lead with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left in the second quarter.
Pecatonica went about 15 minutes without a basket in the first half. Pecatonica junior Emily Scoville scored on a layup with 1:15 to snap the cold spell to cut the Comets' lead to 17-6. The Vikings shot just 1 of 24 in the first half.
"We just couldn't get the lid off the basket," Carlson said. "We missed a lot of bunnies. We were attacking the basket and fading away."
It was a complete turnaround in the second half for the Vikings. The Vikings switched to a fullcourt press and went on an 11-1 run sparked by senior Alexandra Ihm and junior Lexee Ruegsegger. Ruegsegger knocked down a 3-pointer and hit a jumper to ignite the surge. Ihm scored on a conventional three-point play with 5:03 left in the third quarter to slice the Comets' lead to 19-17. The Vikings forced the Comets into 17 of their 25 turnovers in the second half. Ihm scored all 11 of her team-high points in the second half and Scoville added seven points.
"I wanted to play a press so we could get some deflections and make them create some of their own turnovers," Carlson said. "I thought it pushed them out and took them out from where they wanted to run their pick and roll. I think it enthused a few people and we got more fluid on offense."
The Vikings switched to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter and that helped slow down Malkow from scoring inside.
"As we go Malkow needs to go," Albany coach Adam Wamsley said. "If we can get her down low and get the ball into her we can get her going. We have got better at being stronger with the ball."
Malkow understands that she will see some more zone defenses the more she scores in the paint.
"It just kind of stinks when they go to a zone because I usually get double teamed," she said. "It always opens someone else up."
It helped when the shots started falling. Both teams reached the double bonus with 3:30 left in the third quarter and then it became a free throw shooting contest of who could get to the line.
"I thought Alexandra did a really good job of taking the ball to the rim in the second half," Carlson said.
Ihm hit a jumper with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Comets' lead to 30-28. She then scored on a layup to tie the game at 30 with 3:25 to go in the period. The Vikings battled back to take a short-lived one point lead. That is when Albany answered when Malkow scored on a layup with 2:51 to go to give the Comets a 33-31 lead. The Comets withstood the rally by making just enough free throws down the stretch.
Woyak scored nine points for the Comets and Conley added seven points.
"We had some turnovers," Wamsley said. "It's kind of been the story of our season - adversity. We obviously have to do a better job with free throws. We came back and that shows character."
