ARGYLE - When the playoffs come, the stars shine. Such was the case Wednesday as Argyle point guard Kirsten Ostby dropped 23 points to help pace the Orioles to a 68-30 win over Cambria-Friesland in the opening round of the WIAA Division 5 girls basketball playoffs.
"We were ready for this game," Ostby said. "When it got (postponed), we just got extra hyped for it."
Ostby came into the game averaging nearly 11 points per contest, but she continuously found different ways to score Wednesday. Ostby showed off her offensive awareness by driving to the basket against the Hillmen's Box-1 defense. She also hit long jumpers. Throw in her defensive ability to steal the ball and score in transition, and Ostby has begun to open some eyes.
"This is playoff time. This is where everybody wants to be," she said.
Ostby scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the opening half, which included six of her eight baskets in transition. Two of those came by stealing the inbound pass immediately after another Oriole score.
"Defense is just one of the parts of the game where I just feel like I can read really well," Ostby said. "Our team hit some big shots, and they were playing some really big 'D' which helped me out."
Head coach Kurt Ritschard was pleased with what he saw from his junior catalyst.
"Kirsten had her best game both offensively and defensively," Ritschard said. "She played a complete game tonight and really got us rolling. Once they took off the box-and-one because of Kirsten, then Jena (Saalsaa) was able to contribute at a high level."
Ostby wasn't without help, though. The Orioles swarmed the Hillmen with a mix of a full-court press, half-court trap and a wide 3-2 zone. Argyle (16-5), the No. 4 seed, went into the half leading 44-15 while forcing 16 turnovers.
"Coach K (Ritschard) told us that if we can play like we have we're unstoppable - we can beat any team in the state," junior forward Saalsaa said. "If we can keep that up, I'm sure we can go far."
Saalsaa, the leading scorer in the Six Rivers East this season at over 20 points per game, scored 10 of her 21 in the opening half, which included a 3-pointer with 4:30 to play before the break.
"For me, (my confidence) sure goes up. Once I start hitting those shots, it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game," Saalsaa said. "Once everyone starts hitting shots, we all get pumped together, and that's really fun to play with."
Coming out of the locker room at halftime the Orioles were loose and full of smiles, going so far as to have a mini-dance off to "Grease" in the team huddle.
"I told the team at halftime after going up almost 30 that we took care of the ball so well. Even with the box-and-one that they started out with tonight, I thought we really stepped up," Ritschard said. "We got contributions from a lot of different kids tonight just by running the floor and utilizing our transition game."
Cambria-Friesland (5-18) came out more energized initially in the second half but could only bring down its deficit to as low as 27. With 8:03 left in the game, a basket by Jadyn Saalsaa put the difference at 40 points at 67-27 to start the running clock. Both teams sent in their reserves moments later.
"I thought we handled the ball much better than we have the whole season," Ritschard said. "There were some lapses, but as long as we move the ball and take care of the ball, we'll pick up some confidence. And I think we played with a lot of confidence tonight."
Argyle finished with 11 turnovers in the game but forced 21. Jaden Saalsaa scored 8 points, and McKenzee Granberg had 6 off the bench.
The road gets tougher for the Orioles now. Next up is fifth-seeded Randolph (15-8), which defeated Monticello 45-23 Wednesday. The Rockets beat second-seeded Fall River earlier this season. Tip-off is Friday at 7 p.m. in Argyle.
"We're probably going to work on boxing out a little bit. We work on our offense, too, and just keep on pushing," Ostby said of the team's potential final day of practice today. "We've just got to stay up and be ready to go (Friday). We're feeling extra good and ready to go."
"We were ready for this game," Ostby said. "When it got (postponed), we just got extra hyped for it."
Ostby came into the game averaging nearly 11 points per contest, but she continuously found different ways to score Wednesday. Ostby showed off her offensive awareness by driving to the basket against the Hillmen's Box-1 defense. She also hit long jumpers. Throw in her defensive ability to steal the ball and score in transition, and Ostby has begun to open some eyes.
"This is playoff time. This is where everybody wants to be," she said.
Ostby scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the opening half, which included six of her eight baskets in transition. Two of those came by stealing the inbound pass immediately after another Oriole score.
"Defense is just one of the parts of the game where I just feel like I can read really well," Ostby said. "Our team hit some big shots, and they were playing some really big 'D' which helped me out."
Head coach Kurt Ritschard was pleased with what he saw from his junior catalyst.
"Kirsten had her best game both offensively and defensively," Ritschard said. "She played a complete game tonight and really got us rolling. Once they took off the box-and-one because of Kirsten, then Jena (Saalsaa) was able to contribute at a high level."
Ostby wasn't without help, though. The Orioles swarmed the Hillmen with a mix of a full-court press, half-court trap and a wide 3-2 zone. Argyle (16-5), the No. 4 seed, went into the half leading 44-15 while forcing 16 turnovers.
"Coach K (Ritschard) told us that if we can play like we have we're unstoppable - we can beat any team in the state," junior forward Saalsaa said. "If we can keep that up, I'm sure we can go far."
Saalsaa, the leading scorer in the Six Rivers East this season at over 20 points per game, scored 10 of her 21 in the opening half, which included a 3-pointer with 4:30 to play before the break.
"For me, (my confidence) sure goes up. Once I start hitting those shots, it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game," Saalsaa said. "Once everyone starts hitting shots, we all get pumped together, and that's really fun to play with."
Coming out of the locker room at halftime the Orioles were loose and full of smiles, going so far as to have a mini-dance off to "Grease" in the team huddle.
"I told the team at halftime after going up almost 30 that we took care of the ball so well. Even with the box-and-one that they started out with tonight, I thought we really stepped up," Ritschard said. "We got contributions from a lot of different kids tonight just by running the floor and utilizing our transition game."
Cambria-Friesland (5-18) came out more energized initially in the second half but could only bring down its deficit to as low as 27. With 8:03 left in the game, a basket by Jadyn Saalsaa put the difference at 40 points at 67-27 to start the running clock. Both teams sent in their reserves moments later.
"I thought we handled the ball much better than we have the whole season," Ritschard said. "There were some lapses, but as long as we move the ball and take care of the ball, we'll pick up some confidence. And I think we played with a lot of confidence tonight."
Argyle finished with 11 turnovers in the game but forced 21. Jaden Saalsaa scored 8 points, and McKenzee Granberg had 6 off the bench.
The road gets tougher for the Orioles now. Next up is fifth-seeded Randolph (15-8), which defeated Monticello 45-23 Wednesday. The Rockets beat second-seeded Fall River earlier this season. Tip-off is Friday at 7 p.m. in Argyle.
"We're probably going to work on boxing out a little bit. We work on our offense, too, and just keep on pushing," Ostby said of the team's potential final day of practice today. "We've just got to stay up and be ready to go (Friday). We're feeling extra good and ready to go."
