One could call Tuesday’s league game against Ulysses an opportunity for the Scott Community High School girls to do a little house cleaning.
“We wanted to focus on things we didn’t do well the first time we played them,” says head coach Mark Campos. “We didn’t shoot well, we hardly got to the free throw line and we turned the ball over way too many times. We saw this as a chance to clean up some things we did wrong early in the year.”
The Lady Beavers completed their house cleaning with a 55-43 win over the Lady Tigers on the home court.
It appeared Scott City might be in for a tough battle as both teams traded the lead early, with SCHS trailing 12-10 late in the opening period. When Amanda Shearmire tied the game with a basket, and Carissa Chelemedos immediately followed with a three-point play, the Lady Beavers were off and running.
They put together a 10-0 stretch, capped by Jade Glunz’s three-point basket that extended the lead to 20-12. Glunz added a pair of free throws with just under 2-1/2 minutes left in the half that gave Scott City its biggest lead of the half, 30-19.
Both teams played on even terms the remainder of the night.
Ulysses did threaten the Lady Beavers early in the fourth period when they cut the deficit to four points, 43-39, on a pair of free throws. Scott City returned the favor, scoring eight of their next 10 points at the charity stripe to rebuild the margin to 10 points, 53-43, following a free throw by Audrey Baker.
After failing to score from beyond the three-point line in their loss to Ulysses earlier in the season, the Lady Beavers were 2-of-7 this time around. But an even bigger factor was their impressive 17-of-20 shooting from the free throw line.
Chelemedos, who was 7-of-11 from the field, finished with a team high 15 points and six rebounds while Glunz added 12 points and four assists. Sophomore guard Audrey Baker added a team high eight rebounds and seven assists.
While the Lady Beavers held a 31-23 edge in rebounding, it was the 17 offensive boards by Ulysses that bothered Campos.
“That’s something we’ve been emphasizing all season. We have to box out better and not give up so many second-chance points,” says the head coach.
He also says the team needs to avoid “tunnel vision,” and see the whole court better to reduce their unforced turnovers.
Nonetheless, the win was important for the Lady Beavers since it keeps them in the No. 3 spot for a sub-state tournament seed.
“This was a really big game for us because it was a league school, a team that had beaten us earlier in the year and a team that’s breathing down our necks for a sub-state seed,” Campos says.