ARGYLE - It's no secret among Six Rivers East Conference coaches that the Juda girls basketball team's offense runs through 6-foot, 2-inch junior Ellen Kiser down low.
That all changed in the second half of Friday's game. Kiser was saddled to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter. Juda junior C.J. Dunwiddie stepped up and scored 12 of her team-high 17 points in the second half to power the Panthers to a 56-41 win over Argyle. With Kiser forced to the bench, it gave the Panthers a chance to prove they are more of a team than just one premier post player.
The Orioles switched between collapsing 1-2-2 and 2-3 zones throughout the game to make it tougher on Kiser. Kiser entered the game averaging 18.1 points per game. She finished with a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) despite missing almost 10 minutes of court time in the second half.
"Teams know we have Ellen and they will double and triple team her," Juda coach Curt Brown said. "Every team will collapse on us. Everyone else has to step up. We can't win one-on-one. We have to win it five-on-five."
That's exactly the way the Panthers (5-2, 1-1 Six Rivers East) attacked in the second half. Several players stepped up and contributed. Juda senior Alycia Grenzow scored on a turnaround jumper and down low and Amber Ramos hit a shot that helped the Panthers extend their lead. Dunwiddie drilled a jumper to start the fourth quarter and the Panthers extended their lead to 44-30 with Kiser still on the bench.
"Ellen is one of the leaders on our team," Dunwiddie said. "We know if she goes out everyone else has to step up and take it to them."
Argyle coach Johnny Hinojosa's game plan was evident from the opening tipoff.
"Our plan was to get Kiser out of the game," Hinojosa said. "She's one of the premier players in the conference. When you have Kiser on the bench you have to take advantage of it. Kelsey Bartels did a good job on her. That's what you want to see is two big girls going at it. We kept Kiser under 20 points and her average. That's telling you something about what this program is about."
Hinojosa said the Orioles (0-4, 0-2) had to find a way to stop Dunwiddie.
"She was bound to get hot," he said. "We were just hoping it was not as soon as she did."
Brown has confidence in Dunwiddie at point guard.
"C.J. has really stepped up as a leader," Brown said. "She's our floor leader for sure. She has played on varsity for three years and I think that is starting to pay off."
Grenzow scored 14 points for the Panthers and moved into the post with Kiser on the bench. Grenzow said she felt more pressure playing down low with Kiser out of the game.
"I believe I feel more comfortable playing outside because I can pass it in to Ellen," Grenzow said.
Argyle junior Danielle Treuthardt scored a game-high 20 points and hit four 3-pointers to lead the Orioles. Treuthardt buried a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter that sliced the Panthers' lead to 40-30. She scored eight points in the first quarter and the Orioles led 13-12. The Panthers went on a 10-0 spurt at the end of the second quarter to take a commanding 31-18 halftime lead.
"I told her and Kayla Ostby that one of these games they were going to get hot," Hinojosa said. "She hit some shots and kept us in the game."
That all changed in the second half of Friday's game. Kiser was saddled to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter. Juda junior C.J. Dunwiddie stepped up and scored 12 of her team-high 17 points in the second half to power the Panthers to a 56-41 win over Argyle. With Kiser forced to the bench, it gave the Panthers a chance to prove they are more of a team than just one premier post player.
The Orioles switched between collapsing 1-2-2 and 2-3 zones throughout the game to make it tougher on Kiser. Kiser entered the game averaging 18.1 points per game. She finished with a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) despite missing almost 10 minutes of court time in the second half.
"Teams know we have Ellen and they will double and triple team her," Juda coach Curt Brown said. "Every team will collapse on us. Everyone else has to step up. We can't win one-on-one. We have to win it five-on-five."
That's exactly the way the Panthers (5-2, 1-1 Six Rivers East) attacked in the second half. Several players stepped up and contributed. Juda senior Alycia Grenzow scored on a turnaround jumper and down low and Amber Ramos hit a shot that helped the Panthers extend their lead. Dunwiddie drilled a jumper to start the fourth quarter and the Panthers extended their lead to 44-30 with Kiser still on the bench.
"Ellen is one of the leaders on our team," Dunwiddie said. "We know if she goes out everyone else has to step up and take it to them."
Argyle coach Johnny Hinojosa's game plan was evident from the opening tipoff.
"Our plan was to get Kiser out of the game," Hinojosa said. "She's one of the premier players in the conference. When you have Kiser on the bench you have to take advantage of it. Kelsey Bartels did a good job on her. That's what you want to see is two big girls going at it. We kept Kiser under 20 points and her average. That's telling you something about what this program is about."
Hinojosa said the Orioles (0-4, 0-2) had to find a way to stop Dunwiddie.
"She was bound to get hot," he said. "We were just hoping it was not as soon as she did."
Brown has confidence in Dunwiddie at point guard.
"C.J. has really stepped up as a leader," Brown said. "She's our floor leader for sure. She has played on varsity for three years and I think that is starting to pay off."
Grenzow scored 14 points for the Panthers and moved into the post with Kiser on the bench. Grenzow said she felt more pressure playing down low with Kiser out of the game.
"I believe I feel more comfortable playing outside because I can pass it in to Ellen," Grenzow said.
Argyle junior Danielle Treuthardt scored a game-high 20 points and hit four 3-pointers to lead the Orioles. Treuthardt buried a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter that sliced the Panthers' lead to 40-30. She scored eight points in the first quarter and the Orioles led 13-12. The Panthers went on a 10-0 spurt at the end of the second quarter to take a commanding 31-18 halftime lead.
"I told her and Kayla Ostby that one of these games they were going to get hot," Hinojosa said. "She hit some shots and kept us in the game."
