The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Bouncing Back
Hornets blow out Dexter
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 17, 2008
The Saline girls' basketball team might have started 2008 with a loss, but they weren't about to start it with a losing streak.
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The Hornets used a stifling defense and a balanced attack to roll over Lincoln and Dexter last week, 48-28 over the Railsplitters on the road Jan. 8 and 46-21 at home over the Dreadnaughts Thursday.
With the wins, Saline improved to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
"We've had a big improvement record-wise over the last two years, but that and a bag of potato chips will get you, well, a bag of chips. We have to give a great effort every time," said Saline head coach Jason Pickett. "This last week they put forth a lot of effort. They didn't let up. There's a tendency to be up 'X' amount of points and relax a bit, but they really got after it."
That effort helped hold the Dreadnaughts to all of six field goals the entire game and a 26.1 shooting percentage. Dexter never scored more than seven points in any quarter.
As a result, the Hornets took the lead early and were never seriously threatened. Saline led 12-5 after the first quarter, 24-9 at halftime and 37-16 after three.
On the offensive end, Saline shot 40 percent from the field and got three or more points from nine different players. Sarah Hoffman led the Hornets with nine points, followed by Kristy Chapman with seven, Kaitlin Ward with six, Patti Vaassen with a season-high five, and Lauren Zakrasjek, Kristen Nye, Amara Karapas and Beth Ormsby with four each. Angie Hollis had three.
"We didn't have any drop-off in our intensity," Pickett said of the depth and balance shown by the Hornets. "That's one of the bonuses of having such competitive kids and such competitive practices. When they come in, they're ready to take the shot that's available."
Pickett also said his team's offense had benefited from not turning the ball over ball and winning the turnover battle by a 2-1 ratio.
"We took proper care of the basketball," he said. "We talk about controlling what we can control and that's one thing we can do. The fewer turnovers we have, the more possessions we have and the more opportunities we have to score."
Ward led the Hornets on the glass with six rebounds, while Zakrasjek had five and Madeline Winters four. Zakrasjek also added a team-high six assists, while Chapman finished with four steals.
The Hornets had enjoyed a similar level of success against Lincoln. Saline put the homestanding Railsplitters in a 14-4 deficit after the first quarter, and although Lincoln outscored its guests by two in the second. The Hornets rebounded to push the lead back to 14 points, 36-22, entering the fourth quarter.
Hoffman and Winters shared the team lead in points with eight, followed by Hollis with seven, Karapas with six, Nye, Ward and Chapman with four each, Zakrasjek with three, and Natalie Wright and Vaassen with two each.
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