Lady Lions too tall for Crossroads
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The Crossroads Christian girls’ basketball squad hosted Neuse Christian Academy in a non-conference matchup Tuesday evening, losing 71-25 to an extremely talented and tall Lions’ team.
The Colts kept things competitive early on in the contest, trailing Neuse Christian 10-6 midway through the first quarter. The Lions found their stride soon after, however, ending the quarter on a 21-4 run to take complete control of the game.
The Lions continued to pour it on as they started the second quarter on a 19-2 run, eventually heading into the locker room with a very comfortable 52-17 lead at the half. Neuse Christian had the clear height advantage over the Colts, dominating the glass to create numerous second chance opportunities on offense.
“They’re [Neuse Christian] a very solid team inside and out, they’ve got great shooters and great defenders. They also had a huge height advantage on us,” Colts’ head coach Jon Anderson said. “Our gameplan was to try and control the possessions, and keep the game low-scoring so we could compete with them. We didn’t want to press, but wanted to slow the tempo down instead. It worked for a while, but when you’re playing a team this talented they’re going to find other avenues.”
Christian’s Izabella Nicoletti (11 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 10 stl) and Izabel DeAngelo (12 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk) were absolutely dominant in the paint, both doing the majority of their damage in the first half, while Maria Albiero (15 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl) and Julia Zupiccich (11 pts, 9 reb, 4 stl) also performed very well for the Lions.
The Colts’ defense improved significantly after the break as Anderson’s group nar rowed their focus to one possession at a time. Crossroads held the Lions to just six points in the third quarter, but only managed four of their own, all of which were scored by Amber Peoples (12 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl).
“Our approach was to focus on one possession at a time in the second half,” Anderson said. “We wanted to try and get one score and then try and get one stop, and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Peoples and Kelcee Anderson (11 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl) accounted for all but two of the Colts’ points Tuesday, but were still heavily outmatched by the Lions’ post players. Lacie Stef fensen (2 pts, 5 reb) rounded out the scoring for Crossroads, while Hannah Yarborough (2 reb, 2 stl), Justice Simmons (2 reb, 2 blk) and Jenny Boyd (3 reb) all put forth a terrific effort.
The Colts will return to action tonight when they travel to face Wilson Christian Academy in a non-conference matchup
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The Crossroads Christian girls’ basketball squad hosted Neuse Christian Academy in a non-conference matchup Tuesday evening, losing 71-25 to an extremely talented and tall Lions’ team.
The Colts kept things competitive early on in the contest, trailing Neuse Christian 10-6 midway through the first quarter. The Lions found their stride soon after, however, ending the quarter on a 21-4 run to take complete control of the game.
The Lions continued to pour it on as they started the second quarter on a 19-2 run, eventually heading into the locker room with a very comfortable 52-17 lead at the half. Neuse Christian had the clear height advantage over the Colts, dominating the glass to create numerous second chance opportunities on offense.
“They’re [Neuse Christian] a very solid team inside and out, they’ve got great shooters and great defenders. They also had a huge height advantage on us,” Colts’ head coach Jon Anderson said. “Our gameplan was to try and control the possessions, and keep the game low-scoring so we could compete with them. We didn’t want to press, but wanted to slow the tempo down instead. It worked for a while, but when you’re playing a team this talented they’re going to find other avenues.”
Christian’s Izabella Nicoletti (11 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 10 stl) and Izabel DeAngelo (12 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk) were absolutely dominant in the paint, both doing the majority of their damage in the first half, while Maria Albiero (15 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl) and Julia Zupiccich (11 pts, 9 reb, 4 stl) also performed very well for the Lions.
The Colts’ defense improved significantly after the break as Anderson’s group nar rowed their focus to one possession at a time. Crossroads held the Lions to just six points in the third quarter, but only managed four of their own, all of which were scored by Amber Peoples (12 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl).
“Our approach was to focus on one possession at a time in the second half,” Anderson said. “We wanted to try and get one score and then try and get one stop, and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Peoples and Kelcee Anderson (11 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl) accounted for all but two of the Colts’ points Tuesday, but were still heavily outmatched by the Lions’ post players. Lacie Stef fensen (2 pts, 5 reb) rounded out the scoring for Crossroads, while Hannah Yarborough (2 reb, 2 stl), Justice Simmons (2 reb, 2 blk) and Jenny Boyd (3 reb) all put forth a terrific effort.
The Colts will return to action tonight when they travel to face Wilson Christian Academy in a non-conference matchup
