DARLINGTON - For three quarters, Redbirds head coach Adam Rotar was more than pleased with his team's effort. Darlington had shut down Shullsburg's offense and led 28-14 headed into the fourth quarter, but the Miners made a game of it before the buzzer ended the rally.
"Any coach will tell you that you want to maintain whatever lead you have at halftime and after three quarters - but allowing 21 points is too much," Rotar said, after his team pulled out a 41-35 non-conference win Tuesday. "I was waiting for my team to go back to playing how we know we can play. We've played with tremendous intensity, effort and energy and for some reason tonight we weren't getting it back."
Shullsburg hit its first shot with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first and the Redbirds led 6-2 headed into the second. By halftime, Darlington held a 17-6 advantage, with all four of the Miners' points in the second coming on free throws.
"It was definitely a good start. That's what I was hoping for," Rotar said.
Shullsburg didn't hit another field goal until the 1:03 mark in the third quarter, which was a span of 10 minutes, 45 seconds between field goals. In fact, the Miners (9-5) didn't reach double figures until the 1:09 mark in the third despite averaging 48.9 points per game through their first 13 games this season.
"I thought our defense came out like I wanted it to. We held our ground, we were in position, we stayed focused and mixed it up here and there," Rotar said. "We got our hands up and we stopped their penetration - that's what I was really looking for us to do."
Darlington continued to pound the ball inside and hit free throws. The Redbirds were 7 of 11 shots from the charity stripe in the third and 18 of 31 in the game.
"That's good for us because we haven't been that good from the line in previous games. We're starting to connect on our free throws and we're improving with every game," Rotar said.
In the fourth, however, the Redbirds were unable to stop Shullsburg from penetrating and unable to knock down shots from the line.
"We fell flat. And they know they can't do that," Rotar said. "As a coach, I like us to be assertive and attack. But they got by us and they were able to get it in closer to the paint and make some shots. That made it closer than what I probably would have wanted."
The Miners scored 21 points in the final eight minutes and Darlington shot just 11-for-20 from the free throw line in the fourth - just two of its last eight free throws.
"That's not a good finish," Rotar said.
Redbirds sophomore Amy Jorgenson led all scorers with 15 points, including an 8-for-10 performance at the free throw line. Junior Elizabeth Mathias had eight points, including 6-for-8 from the line, and pulled down 11 rebounds.
"She gets to the line a lot because she gets in and gets us rebounds. And she gets up. She's not the tallest person, but for some reason she has a knack for the ball and she goes up and gets it," Rotar said of Mathias.
Darlington (5-8, 3-5 SWAL) host Mineral Point (9-4, 6-2) Thursday.
"Any coach will tell you that you want to maintain whatever lead you have at halftime and after three quarters - but allowing 21 points is too much," Rotar said, after his team pulled out a 41-35 non-conference win Tuesday. "I was waiting for my team to go back to playing how we know we can play. We've played with tremendous intensity, effort and energy and for some reason tonight we weren't getting it back."
Shullsburg hit its first shot with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first and the Redbirds led 6-2 headed into the second. By halftime, Darlington held a 17-6 advantage, with all four of the Miners' points in the second coming on free throws.
"It was definitely a good start. That's what I was hoping for," Rotar said.
Shullsburg didn't hit another field goal until the 1:03 mark in the third quarter, which was a span of 10 minutes, 45 seconds between field goals. In fact, the Miners (9-5) didn't reach double figures until the 1:09 mark in the third despite averaging 48.9 points per game through their first 13 games this season.
"I thought our defense came out like I wanted it to. We held our ground, we were in position, we stayed focused and mixed it up here and there," Rotar said. "We got our hands up and we stopped their penetration - that's what I was really looking for us to do."
Darlington continued to pound the ball inside and hit free throws. The Redbirds were 7 of 11 shots from the charity stripe in the third and 18 of 31 in the game.
"That's good for us because we haven't been that good from the line in previous games. We're starting to connect on our free throws and we're improving with every game," Rotar said.
In the fourth, however, the Redbirds were unable to stop Shullsburg from penetrating and unable to knock down shots from the line.
"We fell flat. And they know they can't do that," Rotar said. "As a coach, I like us to be assertive and attack. But they got by us and they were able to get it in closer to the paint and make some shots. That made it closer than what I probably would have wanted."
The Miners scored 21 points in the final eight minutes and Darlington shot just 11-for-20 from the free throw line in the fourth - just two of its last eight free throws.
"That's not a good finish," Rotar said.
Redbirds sophomore Amy Jorgenson led all scorers with 15 points, including an 8-for-10 performance at the free throw line. Junior Elizabeth Mathias had eight points, including 6-for-8 from the line, and pulled down 11 rebounds.
"She gets to the line a lot because she gets in and gets us rebounds. And she gets up. She's not the tallest person, but for some reason she has a knack for the ball and she goes up and gets it," Rotar said of Mathias.
Darlington (5-8, 3-5 SWAL) host Mineral Point (9-4, 6-2) Thursday.
