JUDA - Argyle junior Jena Saalsaa and her teammates love to push the ball and play at a fast pace. In a matchup against Juda, she knew the Panthers would slow the game down.
Saalsaa scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Orioles pull out a 47-36 win over Juda Thursday.
"I knew last time it was a close game," Saalsaa said. "We told ourselves we were not going to dig ourselves a hole again. They did a good job of slowing it down against us because we are a fast team. We did a good job of fighting through it."
Juda played a 2-3 zone and matchup zone in an effort to slow down the Orioles. Juda senior Erika Duecker converted a three-point play with 8 minutes, 59 seconds to go to slice what was a one-time Orioles' 10-point lead to three points, 32-29. Argyle (12-3, 6-2 Six Rivers East) closed the game with a 15-7 run for the victory.
Saalsaa drilled a 3-pointer to give the Orioles a 38-31 lead with 7:23 left. Juda senior Maddie Roth, who was playing in her first game in more than a month due to a sprained ankle, responded by knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the Orioles' lead to four points. Argyle junior Kirsten Ostby scored on a putback and Saalsaa drove into the lane and hit a pullup jumper to extend the Orioles' lead to 44-36 with 3:37 to go.
"I told them after the game it was an ugly win, but none the less a win," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "We know every game against Juda will be a battle. It's the nature of conference play."
Juda coach Curt Brown gave credit to Saalsaa and the Orioles for finding holes in the zone in the second half.
"We try to limit how much we allow penetration," Brown said. "We just try to make the other team make the extra pass all the time. Saalsaa is just an excellent player. They do a good job of playing with her. Saalsaa is just too good."
Brown understands the Panthers were within a couple possessions of coming back to take the lead after being down by 10-points early in the second half.
"I think we know we can play with them if we clean things up," he said. "We are close in these games and then we have a breakdown and there is a little spurt of six or eight points."
Early on, Juda (5-11, 2-6 Six Rivers East) looked poised to pull out an upset win after jumping out to a 13-8 lead. Argyle made a late push in the first half to take the lead. Saalsaa knocked down a jumper to give the Orioles a 19-17 advantage with 3 minutes left in the first half. Juda senior MacKenzie Byrne scored all 6 of her points in the first half and was adept at helping the Panthers break the Orioles' press. Argyle was clinging to a 22-19 lead at the break.
"Our passing in the first half was not very good," Ritschard said. "We were lobbing the ball and not passing it so we could catch it in rhythm in the shooting pocket. We talked at halftime that we needed to get their zone to move. Jena did a good job of penetrating their zone and hitting pullup shots."
The Orioles opened the second half with a 10-3 run. Saalsaa hit a 3-pointer to start the second half. Ostby scored on a layup and then drilled a 3-pointer to give the Orioles a 32-22 lead with 11:50 left in the game.
Ostby scored nine of her 13 points in the second half. The Panthers bounced back and sliced the Orioles' lead to two points at one point before Argyle's final surge.
"Our coach (Ritschard) told me to find the holes and I found them," Saalsaa said of the Panthers' zone defense. "It worked out perfectly."
Roth scored a team-high 9 points to lead the Panthers. Duecker added 7.
Brown was excited to have Roth back on the court.
"She missed five or six weeks with a severe ankle sprain," he said. "She pushed really hard in practice the last five or six weeks to come back. There are not a lot of kids who would do that."
Argyle outrebounded Juda 19-14 in the second half and the Orioles had seven offensive rebounds after the break.
"It made a big difference with our height in the second half," Ritschard said. "Boxing out and rebounding were two keys after we lost to Wisconsin Heights on Tuesday. To the girls' credit they honed in on that. It's hard to win if you don't get those second-chance opportunities."
Saalsaa scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Orioles pull out a 47-36 win over Juda Thursday.
"I knew last time it was a close game," Saalsaa said. "We told ourselves we were not going to dig ourselves a hole again. They did a good job of slowing it down against us because we are a fast team. We did a good job of fighting through it."
Juda played a 2-3 zone and matchup zone in an effort to slow down the Orioles. Juda senior Erika Duecker converted a three-point play with 8 minutes, 59 seconds to go to slice what was a one-time Orioles' 10-point lead to three points, 32-29. Argyle (12-3, 6-2 Six Rivers East) closed the game with a 15-7 run for the victory.
Saalsaa drilled a 3-pointer to give the Orioles a 38-31 lead with 7:23 left. Juda senior Maddie Roth, who was playing in her first game in more than a month due to a sprained ankle, responded by knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the Orioles' lead to four points. Argyle junior Kirsten Ostby scored on a putback and Saalsaa drove into the lane and hit a pullup jumper to extend the Orioles' lead to 44-36 with 3:37 to go.
"I told them after the game it was an ugly win, but none the less a win," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "We know every game against Juda will be a battle. It's the nature of conference play."
Juda coach Curt Brown gave credit to Saalsaa and the Orioles for finding holes in the zone in the second half.
"We try to limit how much we allow penetration," Brown said. "We just try to make the other team make the extra pass all the time. Saalsaa is just an excellent player. They do a good job of playing with her. Saalsaa is just too good."
Brown understands the Panthers were within a couple possessions of coming back to take the lead after being down by 10-points early in the second half.
"I think we know we can play with them if we clean things up," he said. "We are close in these games and then we have a breakdown and there is a little spurt of six or eight points."
Early on, Juda (5-11, 2-6 Six Rivers East) looked poised to pull out an upset win after jumping out to a 13-8 lead. Argyle made a late push in the first half to take the lead. Saalsaa knocked down a jumper to give the Orioles a 19-17 advantage with 3 minutes left in the first half. Juda senior MacKenzie Byrne scored all 6 of her points in the first half and was adept at helping the Panthers break the Orioles' press. Argyle was clinging to a 22-19 lead at the break.
"Our passing in the first half was not very good," Ritschard said. "We were lobbing the ball and not passing it so we could catch it in rhythm in the shooting pocket. We talked at halftime that we needed to get their zone to move. Jena did a good job of penetrating their zone and hitting pullup shots."
The Orioles opened the second half with a 10-3 run. Saalsaa hit a 3-pointer to start the second half. Ostby scored on a layup and then drilled a 3-pointer to give the Orioles a 32-22 lead with 11:50 left in the game.
Ostby scored nine of her 13 points in the second half. The Panthers bounced back and sliced the Orioles' lead to two points at one point before Argyle's final surge.
"Our coach (Ritschard) told me to find the holes and I found them," Saalsaa said of the Panthers' zone defense. "It worked out perfectly."
Roth scored a team-high 9 points to lead the Panthers. Duecker added 7.
Brown was excited to have Roth back on the court.
"She missed five or six weeks with a severe ankle sprain," he said. "She pushed really hard in practice the last five or six weeks to come back. There are not a lot of kids who would do that."
Argyle outrebounded Juda 19-14 in the second half and the Orioles had seven offensive rebounds after the break.
"It made a big difference with our height in the second half," Ritschard said. "Boxing out and rebounding were two keys after we lost to Wisconsin Heights on Tuesday. To the girls' credit they honed in on that. It's hard to win if you don't get those second-chance opportunities."
