Lowell Girls dominated in 2nd half, fall on road 59-40 to Hobart

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-16-2011

LOWELL (40) Mackenzie Kreutz 3-10-16, Katie Bobos 1-2-4, Sarah Wieser 0-3-3, Carley Austgen 1-0-3, Carissa Thiel 2-3-7, Savannah Summers 1-0-3, Sarah Wietbrock 0-4-4, Sarah Edwards 0-0-0, Ashley Starcevich 0-0-0. TOTALS: 8 (22-29) 40.

HOBART (59) Sarah Blandford 7-5-19, Kim Tokarski 1-1-3, LaKenya Perry 5-0-10, Amanda Coons 1-0-2, Taylor James 4-1-9, Alycia Corral 4-1-10, Caitlin Leath 1-2-4, Grace Roach 1-0-2. TOTALS: 24 (10-15) 59.

FREE THROWS: LOWELL (22-29, 75.8%) Kreutz 10-11, Bobos 2-4, Wieser 3-4, Thiel 3-4, Wietbrock 4-6; HOBART (10-15, 66.7%) Blandford 5-6, James 1-1, Tokarski 1-4, Corral 1-2, Leath 2-2.

REBOUNDS: LOWELL (30) Thiel 11, Kreutz 7, Bobos 5, Summers 3, Wieser 2, Austgen, Edwards; HOBART (17) Corral 4, Tokarski 3, Blandford 3, Perry 2, Roach 2, Leath 2, , Coons.

ASSISTS: LOWELL (3) Austgen, Thiel, Wieser; HOBART (13) Tokarski 5, James 2, Corral 2, Roach 2, Blandford, Perry.

STEALS: LOWELL (1) Wietbrock; HOBART (16) Perry 4, Corral 2, James 2, Blandford 2, Coons 2, Tokarski 2, Leath, Roach.

3-GOALS: LOWELL (2) Carley Austgen, Savannah Summers; HOBART (1) Alycia Corral.

LOWELL (01-15-2011) Some of us thought that Lowell was ready to go to Hobart and take down the defending Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) champion Brickies. Some of us will have to think again. In a game where the Devils out-rebounded Hobart and sank 22 of 29 free throws, Lowell was dominated in the second half, losing 59-40 Saturday night at the bright, shiny new Hobart high school.

Lowell (10-5) is going to have their first winning season in five years and they're obviously improved, but the Devils got a look at the kind of team coach Katie Antcliff wants her sophomore-dominated team to become sometime in the future.

"Tomorrow, I want to be that team," the rookie Lowell coach said of Hobart. "He's doing a great job with those kids. He's got them tuned in and defense is the name of their game."

The Devils, coming off a 66-55 loss at Merrillville where they played well, broke down in the second half at Hobart. Trailing just 22-18, Lowell gave up a 14-3 run, largely due to turnovers and Hobart lay-ups.

Senior guard Kim Tokarski had three assists in that stretch while senior Sarah Blandford scored nine of her game-high 19 points in the third quarter. No combination of Lowell players could get the ball into scoring position consistently against the small, but aggressive Brickie defenders. In the fourth quarter Hobart senior forward LaKenya Perry stole the ball three times and scored five baskets as the home team pulled away to their ninth win in a row, all without 2010 leading scorer Amanda Corral, who was injured back in November and is out for the year.

"This wasn't one of our better games," admitted Hobart coach Mike Hamacher, "especially in the first half. But we were able to pressure them a little. I told TaKenya. Don't let the first half spoil the whole game for you. She wasn't able to pick it up right away when she went back out there but late on she did."

Hobart is surprising because they don't seem to have a pivotal player. Lowell focused on lead guard Kim Tokarski, who scored only three points. But Blandford and Perry more than made up for it. That and an aggressive, overplaying defense that exposes weak ball handlers.

"I don't know who our key player is," said Hamacher. "I really don't. Every game, someone else steps up. It's a credit to them that they've played as well as we have without Amanda. And she's been a big help. She was a big factor tonight supporting the other girls on the sidelines."

The only advantage Lowell had was close to the basket where 6-foot-1 Mackenzie Kreutz and Carissa Thiel combined for 23 points and 18 rebounds. But they had to physically go through Hobart defenders to get those numbers in a game where a lot of contact was allowed.

"We can't read the defense," said Antcliff. "In the first half, they were trapping us coming up the sidelines which they should recognize because that's what we do. So, at halftime, we told them to get the ball into the middle of the court. Then they (Hobart) starting trapping us in the middle of the floor with thee or four girls and we couldn't adjust. I shouldn't have to say that if they start trapping in the middle go back to the sidelines. But we couldn't adjust."

What is unsaid about Lowell is that they have eight sophomores and one senior (Thiel) on the roster. It would be unusual if they did defeat a Hobart squad that has seven seniors who have been together since sixth grade. But 40 points and 31 turnovers is a stink that is hard to wash off. Especially with just three weeks left in the season.

"If we can get our team back on track," Antcliff said. "I should say WHEN we get our team back together, we're planning on going into the sectional and pulling off a couple of upsets. Nobody's expecting anything from us after tonight."

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell senior Carissa Thiel had seven points and seven rebounds in the second half alone.

"In the last couple of games, she has been much more aggressive," said Lowell coach Katie Antcliff. "Her and 'Kenzie' (Mackenzie Kreutz) have really been monsters up front."

Hobart coach Mike Hamacher said that he went to a '4-corner's stall in the second quarter because of foul trouble and Lowell's lineup, which included 6-foot Mackenzie Kruetz, 6-foot Carissa Thiel and 5-foot-10 Katie Bobos.

"When they put three 'bigs' on the floor, we spread it out and held the ball a little," he said. "We don't match up."

Hobart starters three 5-foot-6 players in Sarah Blandford, Kim Tokarski and Taylor James.

"They (Lowell) are a good team," said Hamacher. "They play hard."

Lowell had 16 turnovers in each half and most of them were caused by one-on-one pressure against the ball. The Devils also turned the ball over frequently in the 66-55 loss at Merrillville three nights earlier, but it was a much better showing.

"We beat them in every statistical category except for turnovers,'" she said. "And that was without Bobos and Godbolt."

Godbolt, the 5-foot-3 sophomore lead guard, had some back problems and had to leave the game early in the first half. Bobos, who missed the Merrillville game, came back to start Saturday night in Hobart.

The Brickies, who were 19-3 with two losses to Merrillville last season, host Merrillville (10-5) Tuesday night.

Lowell's win over Carroll (11-3) in December may not have seemed significant, but it is Carroll's only loss in their last 10 games. Lowell's last winning season was 2006 when they finished at 15-7.

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Revised: January 16, 2011 .