CLINTON - Don't tell Hayli Peach what she and her Comets can't do. On second thought, if you're an Albany fan, perhaps you should. You'll likely enjoy the result.
Albany's junior point guard dropped 33 points in a convincing 63-52 victory over perennial powerhouse and top seed Burlington Catholic Central (14-11, 9-7 Midwest Classic South) at Clinton High School on Saturday. It moves the third-seeded Comets (13-11, 7-7 Six Rivers East) two wins closer to their first-ever state berth.
"I don't care what sport it is - all I've heard about is Burlington Catholic always knocking these guys off," second-year Albany coach Mike Brunhoefer said.
"We were kind of getting a lot of putdowns that we were going to get beat," said Peach, whose team has no seniors. "We just made up our mind that we could beat them and not be so negative."
Peach hit four 3s and went 17-for-23 at the free-throw line. After making just one of three freebies with nine-tenths of a second left in the first half, she made amends by hitting her first nine attempts in the second half as Albany seized control.
The Comets led 22-19 at the break before rattling off seven points in 26 seconds to lead 37-25 with 4:02 left in the third. Juniors Hillary Best and Kaitlyn Schulz had consecutive offensive rebounds as the Comets hit one of four free throws. When Schulz got on the floor to dig out the second one, the reload set up a 3 by Peach from the right wing. Then a Courtney Pfeuti steal on the ensuing press set up another Peach bomb from the same spot.
The Albany press was stifling in the middle quarters, but Brunhoefer was looking to pull it off momentarily.
"All of a sudden, (Peach) hit that and (Pfeuti) automatically pressed," Brunhoefer said. "I was about ready to to say 'No.'"
"I didn't think my 3s were really on," Peach said. "I figured with them in foul trouble, I either needed to take the 3 or just drive. I made that 3 and from there I just drove the lane."
And did she drive.
Peach's relentless penetration had the Comets shooting bonus free throws with 1:37 left in the third period. She only had two 2-point field goals, but she hit the game's biggest - and most improbable - shot with 5:35 left in the fourth.
After weaving into the lane, she tripped over 6-footer Kelli Smith's outstretched right leg. As the 5-5 Peach fell to the floor, she blindly flipped the ball high off the glass. At the same moment her body hit the floor, the ball spun off the window before rattling down the cylinder.
Circus shots are not uncommon from Peach. Just ask her classmate, Sydney Bump.
"What can I say - when we get a run, we're all positive and have that adrenaline rush," Bump said. "Once we get excited, we get on fire."
The Hilltoppers didn't go away quietly, firing off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 54-45 with 4:21 left to play. Sophomore Allie Hocking, who tied Smith with a team-high 14 points, capped the run and her 12-point second half by drilling a 3.
"We have such heart on this team - I knew we weren't going to give up without a fight," Catholic Central junior Caitlin Snyder said.
But Snyder fouled out with 4:14 left and the Comets hit enough freebies down the stretch to fend off the Toppers.
"We made the free throws when we needed them," Brunhoefer said.
Albany was ferocious on the offensive glass and many times, even when the Toppers thought they had rebounds secured, the Comets stripped the ball away to reload.
"Our posts did a great job tonight and I'm guessing they had even more steals than our guards," Peach said.
"I don't want to second guess anybody, but I think being a No. 1 seed, I don't think they really respected us," Brunhoefer said. "They thought they were just going to come in and manhandle us."
The Comets made their share of momentum-saving hoops. After Nathalie Oehlers' putback for the Toppers late in the third, Bump came roaring back in transition and drove the right side before skipping a pass along the baseline to Kirstie Kauk at the left block. The freshman made good on the bunny at the buzzer, reestablishing a 15-point Comets lead at 47-32 after three.
"We knew we had to play through the whole game," Bump said. "They're a good team and they were going to keep fighting til the end. We had to play to the buzzer."
Down 9-4, Albany hits two 3s in the final 1:03 of the first period. Peach first hit a step-back 3 from the right wing with 1:03 left. On the next Comets possession, junior Courtney Pfeuti, who was second in scoring for Albany with 10 points, brought the ball up the left sideline and stepped into a bomb of her own to get within one at 10-9.
Albany pulled even at 15-15 on junior Kaitlyn Schulz's three-point play off a weak-side offensive rebound and putback over Kelsey Robers. About two minutes later, junior post Hillary Best capped a 9-2 run by hitting a 10-foot fadeaway falling to her right and away from a triple team.
"I know it's hard to believe, but that's her shot," Brunhoefer said. "I tell her, 'It might not look good, but as long as it goes in, I don't care.'"
Peach also handed out four assists, giving her a hand in 42 of the Comets' 63 points.
"I run the team, she runs the floor, and she took a lot of tough hits out there," Brunhoefer said. "As a sophomore, she would retaliate and now she can control that much better as she's matured. I even told her it was going to get physical in the fourth quarter. She took a lot of hard fouls, looked at me and went to the free-throw line."
Several Albany alumni visited practice last week to help the Comets prepare for the Toppers' decided size advantage.
"I just kind of took it to them really hard," Peach said. "I was pushing myself harder and harder every day they came."
In his first two seasons, Brunhoefer has read the writing on the wall. Saturday morning, he handed his team an eraser.
"The last thing I said before we left the gym was, 'You know girls, it's raining outside - that's a good sign - their reign is over,'" Brunhoefer said.
Albany's junior point guard dropped 33 points in a convincing 63-52 victory over perennial powerhouse and top seed Burlington Catholic Central (14-11, 9-7 Midwest Classic South) at Clinton High School on Saturday. It moves the third-seeded Comets (13-11, 7-7 Six Rivers East) two wins closer to their first-ever state berth.
"I don't care what sport it is - all I've heard about is Burlington Catholic always knocking these guys off," second-year Albany coach Mike Brunhoefer said.
"We were kind of getting a lot of putdowns that we were going to get beat," said Peach, whose team has no seniors. "We just made up our mind that we could beat them and not be so negative."
Peach hit four 3s and went 17-for-23 at the free-throw line. After making just one of three freebies with nine-tenths of a second left in the first half, she made amends by hitting her first nine attempts in the second half as Albany seized control.
The Comets led 22-19 at the break before rattling off seven points in 26 seconds to lead 37-25 with 4:02 left in the third. Juniors Hillary Best and Kaitlyn Schulz had consecutive offensive rebounds as the Comets hit one of four free throws. When Schulz got on the floor to dig out the second one, the reload set up a 3 by Peach from the right wing. Then a Courtney Pfeuti steal on the ensuing press set up another Peach bomb from the same spot.
The Albany press was stifling in the middle quarters, but Brunhoefer was looking to pull it off momentarily.
"All of a sudden, (Peach) hit that and (Pfeuti) automatically pressed," Brunhoefer said. "I was about ready to to say 'No.'"
"I didn't think my 3s were really on," Peach said. "I figured with them in foul trouble, I either needed to take the 3 or just drive. I made that 3 and from there I just drove the lane."
And did she drive.
Peach's relentless penetration had the Comets shooting bonus free throws with 1:37 left in the third period. She only had two 2-point field goals, but she hit the game's biggest - and most improbable - shot with 5:35 left in the fourth.
After weaving into the lane, she tripped over 6-footer Kelli Smith's outstretched right leg. As the 5-5 Peach fell to the floor, she blindly flipped the ball high off the glass. At the same moment her body hit the floor, the ball spun off the window before rattling down the cylinder.
Circus shots are not uncommon from Peach. Just ask her classmate, Sydney Bump.
"What can I say - when we get a run, we're all positive and have that adrenaline rush," Bump said. "Once we get excited, we get on fire."
The Hilltoppers didn't go away quietly, firing off a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 54-45 with 4:21 left to play. Sophomore Allie Hocking, who tied Smith with a team-high 14 points, capped the run and her 12-point second half by drilling a 3.
"We have such heart on this team - I knew we weren't going to give up without a fight," Catholic Central junior Caitlin Snyder said.
But Snyder fouled out with 4:14 left and the Comets hit enough freebies down the stretch to fend off the Toppers.
"We made the free throws when we needed them," Brunhoefer said.
Albany was ferocious on the offensive glass and many times, even when the Toppers thought they had rebounds secured, the Comets stripped the ball away to reload.
"Our posts did a great job tonight and I'm guessing they had even more steals than our guards," Peach said.
"I don't want to second guess anybody, but I think being a No. 1 seed, I don't think they really respected us," Brunhoefer said. "They thought they were just going to come in and manhandle us."
The Comets made their share of momentum-saving hoops. After Nathalie Oehlers' putback for the Toppers late in the third, Bump came roaring back in transition and drove the right side before skipping a pass along the baseline to Kirstie Kauk at the left block. The freshman made good on the bunny at the buzzer, reestablishing a 15-point Comets lead at 47-32 after three.
"We knew we had to play through the whole game," Bump said. "They're a good team and they were going to keep fighting til the end. We had to play to the buzzer."
Down 9-4, Albany hits two 3s in the final 1:03 of the first period. Peach first hit a step-back 3 from the right wing with 1:03 left. On the next Comets possession, junior Courtney Pfeuti, who was second in scoring for Albany with 10 points, brought the ball up the left sideline and stepped into a bomb of her own to get within one at 10-9.
Albany pulled even at 15-15 on junior Kaitlyn Schulz's three-point play off a weak-side offensive rebound and putback over Kelsey Robers. About two minutes later, junior post Hillary Best capped a 9-2 run by hitting a 10-foot fadeaway falling to her right and away from a triple team.
"I know it's hard to believe, but that's her shot," Brunhoefer said. "I tell her, 'It might not look good, but as long as it goes in, I don't care.'"
Peach also handed out four assists, giving her a hand in 42 of the Comets' 63 points.
"I run the team, she runs the floor, and she took a lot of tough hits out there," Brunhoefer said. "As a sophomore, she would retaliate and now she can control that much better as she's matured. I even told her it was going to get physical in the fourth quarter. She took a lot of hard fouls, looked at me and went to the free-throw line."
Several Albany alumni visited practice last week to help the Comets prepare for the Toppers' decided size advantage.
"I just kind of took it to them really hard," Peach said. "I was pushing myself harder and harder every day they came."
In his first two seasons, Brunhoefer has read the writing on the wall. Saturday morning, he handed his team an eraser.
"The last thing I said before we left the gym was, 'You know girls, it's raining outside - that's a good sign - their reign is over,'" Brunhoefer said.
