SHORELINE
Talk about a turnaround.
The Shorecrest girls basketball team sprinted out to a 20-point halftime lead and held on to beat crosstown rival Shorewood, 53-42 Jan. 17.
The Scots lost the first meeting between the two teams, 54-48 on Jan. 13. Shorewood broke a 12-game losing streak to Shorecrest in that game.
“That was definitely a wake-up call for us,” said Aly Richards, a Shorecrest senior guard who scored a team-high 12 points. “We had to show them it’s not going to happen again. I’m pleased with how we’re playing.”
Shorecrest (4-5 Western Conference South Division, 5-8 overall), started the season 0-6 but is playing much better as of late. The Scots hope the win over Shorewood proves to be a turning point in their season.
“I think we’ve been playing pretty good after Christmas,” Shorecrest head coach Jon Rasmussen said.
The Scots never trailed in the game and jumped out to a 17-4 first quarter lead at Shorewood High School.
Shorecrest threw several different zone defenses at the Thunderbirds which proved effective early on against the Thunderbirds’ leading scorer, forward Jane Fleck, who only had four points at halftime. Rasmussen said the Scots employed 2-3, 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 zone defenses, which the T-birds found difficult to attack.
“We struggled because we were tentative with the ball,” Shorewood head coach Jeff Bernhardt said.
Steals and fast breaks fueled the Scots’ offense, which scored many of its points in transition en route to a 35-15 lead at the half.
“If we know we can run on teams we might as well do it,” Richards said.
Meanwhile, a couple key players for Shorewood found themselves in early foul trouble. Senior point guard Rachel Eckerlin picked up her third foul in the first quarter and sophomore guard Becky Farden’s third foul came midway through the second quarter.
“At that point we need some other people to step up,” Bernhardt said.
Shorewood made a bit of a run in the fourth quarter with Fleck scoring 11 of her game-high 15 points in the period, but the T-birds got no closer than nine points.
“A game like this grounds you, it humbles you,” Bernhardt said.
Shorecrest guard Jocelyn Riordan scored nine points, forward Molly Gibson scored eight points and post Donna Reisinger added seven. The Scots used their sixth different starting lineup of the year, Rasmussen said.
Farden scored 10 points for Shorewood, which hopes to keep the rivalry competitive in the coming years.
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