Lady Devils "warming up" with 67-28 win over Morton

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
11-20-2011

MORTON (28) Alexis Casas 1-0-2, Keonna Baldwin 3-2-8, Lindsay Welch 2-2-6, Esraa Elabder 4-2-10, Meghan Rogers 0-2-2, Rayann Johnston 0-0-0, Tatyana Skinner 0-0-0, Elia Robinson 0-0-0, Brittany Belk 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10 (8-16) 28.

LOWELL (67) Sarah Wietbrock 5-3-13, Kalyne Godbolt 5-0-11, Katie Bobos 7-2-14, Mackenzie Kreutz 3-0-6, Carley Austgen 2-3-8, Sarah Wieser 2-1-6, Savannah Summers 1-1-3, Hunter Jusevitch 1-2-4, Sydney Barta 0-2-2, Nicole Sharkey 0-0-0, Sarah Fraikin 0-0-0, Amy Fraikin 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26 (12-21) 67.

FREE THROWS: MORTON (8-16, 50%) Baldwin 2-5, Welch 2-4, Kinner 0-2, Rogers 2-2, Elabed 2-4; LOWELL (14-27, 51.5%) Bobos 2-4, Godbolt 0-3, Wietbrock 3-5, Summers 1-2, Jusevitch 2-2, Wieser 1-2, Barta 2-5, Austgen 3-4.

REBOUNDS: MORTON (19) Baldwin 5, Skinner 4, Welch 3, Casas 3, Robinson, Johnston, Belk, Elabed; LOWELL (33) Bobos 10, Kreutz 5, Wietbrock 4, Jusevitch 4, Godbolt 3, Barta 3, Summers, Sharkey, Amy Fraikin, Sarah Fraikin.

STEALS: MORTON (7) Casas 3, Baldwin 2, Elabed 2, Belk: LOWELL (9) Godbolt 2, Wieser 2, Austgen 2, Jusevitch 2, Bobos.

ASSISTS: MORTON (2) Welch, Elabed; LOWELL (7) Godbolt 5, Bobos 2,

FOULED OUT: MORTON (1) Rayann Johnston (4th Q) 2:40; LOWELL (1) Kalyne Godbolt (4th Q) 4:57.

3-GOALS: (0); LOWELL (3) Kalyne Godbolt, Carley Austgen, Sarah Wieser.

LOWELL (11-19-2011) The intensity level was a little low for the Lowell Red Devils and coach Katie Antcliff 'explained' to them that Friday's 62-28 victory over winless Morton was the last time they're going to be able to get away with that. It's going to be awhile before Lowell sees any more losing teams.

"We kinda lit them up at halftime," said coach Katie Antcliff, "and they played a little better in the third quarter."

The 24-4 run after halftime boosted Lowell to their third win of the young season, but this was not their best game, despite both 14 points and 10 rebounds from 5-foot-10 Katie Bobos and 11 points and five assists from guard Kalyne Godbolt.

The Devils (3-0) played this game like it was a warm-up exercise for the bigger games down the line. That's not the attitude their coaches want them to have.

"Morton played us very hard," said Lowell coach Katie Antcliff. "Coming into this game I think the kids thought they'd cruise through and that didn't happen. We have to understand that we're being scouted. Morton threw everything they had at us in that first half."

Lowell scored 13 points in a row to take a 20-6 lead, but the Governors (0-3) wouldn't let it go and, despite committing 14 of their 28 turnovers in the first half, the Governors pulled within 24-14 late in the second quarter.

Godbolt fouled out with almost five minutes to play, something that her coach noted.

"Some of the fouls were questionable, but not that many," she said. "You've got to learn how to read the game. She realizes that. When she got the fourth foul I pulled her over and said, you're my point guard and there are times when you are going to have to play with four fouls. Let's see you do that. And then she fouled out a minute later. We'll have to work on that."

Friday's game was hard to watch. Lots of turnovers and shots that were more wishing than anything else. But Morton played very hard and, led by 6-foot-2 Keonna Baldwin, contested everything especially in the first half.

Lowell was obviously the better team, but they committed 23 turnovers in front of a small crowd that included coach Doug Nelson of Hanover and some of the Hanover players, who host Lowell in a girls/boys double-header Wednesday night.

"I told them that everyone is watching you," said Antcliff. "And you just showed them how to beat Lowell. If you play hard against them and get physical with them, they will have trouble. That's what we showed tonight."

Antcliff is very much like her old coach (present Lowell athletic director) Patti McCormack in a lot of respects and the Thanksgiving Eve game with Hanover Central is one of them.

"It's a great night for the kids," she said. "A sectional atmosphere with all the kids home from college. But I just hate losing to Hanover. Just hate it."

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell has an interesting scenario on its roster. They have just two seniors and all five starters are juniors. But there's a quartet of four freshmen, guards Nicole Sharkey and Hunter Jusevitch and with forward Samantha Roach and Sydney Barta, plus 5-foot-8 sophomore Amy Fraikin, all of whom got into the game against Morton, who are on the horizon.

Antcliff is trying to cultivate a relationship between the starters, a dominating class up through middle school, and this year's freshmen.

"We only have eight kids listed on the varsity. There's six kids on the JV team that also have varsity uniforms. We dress three of four of them a night depending on how they do during the week."

"I told them from the very beginning that we aren't going anywhere without the younger players. You need to take them under your wing and help them along.

"Because we aren't going to go anywhere without the freshmen. Once we get into the big games, you've got to be able to count on those younger kids. They're trying to help them. They don't really know how to. They have always had themselves. Some of them have played together or they are somewhat friends. So they're open to it. But they have to try to do it."

Former Crown Point coach Tom May, who built the CP program over 27 years as head coach, was and now again is a referee and he was a one of the three in control of the Morton-Lowell game Friday.

Antcliff and Katie Porento played on the Lowell team that defeated CP 58-51 in the 2000 sectional championship game.

"That was the first thing he said to me tonight," smiled Antcliff later.

"You beat me." I said, "You aren't going to hold that against me, are you?"

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Revised: November 20, 2011 .