Feb 4, 2016 3 min read

PERRYOPOLIS – The game plan for the Frazier girls’ basketball team has been pretty simple this season – get the ball in the hands of Brooke Poling.

The freshman entered Thursday night’s game against Washington averaging 17.2 points per game.

It was a strategy that worked to perfection when Frazier and Wash High met earlier this season, as her 33 points and a lackadaisical, 13-point second half performance from the Prexies resulted in a 71-45 win by the Commodores.

Washington head coach Mike Maltony was not going to let it happen again.

Thursday night, the Prexies implemented a box-and-one defense and surrounded the young guard while forcing 23 Frazier turnovers, all of which resulted in Washington cruising to a 62-46 victory to clinch an outright Section 4-AA championship.

“We couldn’t get into any kind of flow,” said Frazier head coach Ken Poling. “When we can’t get (Brooke) going, our team struggles. When she takes off, our team takes off. It’s been like that all year.”

Poling, who was limited to five points, was only the beginning of the issues for the Commodores.

Frazier (9-3, 12-8), which had more first-half turnovers (16) than points (14), couldn’t find production elsewhere with Poling struggling.

“We talked about and tried practicing different defenses,” said Maltony. “We wanted to put a box around her just to try to slow her down and hope their other players wouldn’t hurt us.”

Washington’s Nicole Hoffman led all scorers with 19 points, while Tajah Gordon, who saw limited action in the second half because of foul trouble, scored 13 points and collected eight rebounds.

Gordon and Hoffman both fouled out early in the fourth quarter but Maltony went to a lineup that included four freshmen, including Torri Finley, who had 12 points and 14 rebounds, to close out the win.

“The maturity level of our girls the first time we played them wasn’t good,” said Maltony. “We just folded under pressure.”

A month between those meetings made a world of difference for Washington (11-1, 18-4).

Finley, who has been starting all season for the Prexies, was counted on heavily for scoring down the stretch.

“It’s hard being a freshman and having a big role as a starter,” said Finley. “With both Taj and Nikki out, someone had to step up. I guess that was me.”

After taking a 28-14 lead into halftime, Washington maintained that margin, though the Commodores did cut the lead to nine points with 5:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“I just wish we had more energy tonight,” said Poling. “We couldn’t get in transition and didn’t play fast, two things we were able to do last time.”

The lone bright spot for Frazier was the double-double performance by Hannah Fell, who scored a team high 12 points while collecting 18 rebounds.

“She battles,” said Poling. “She is such a big part of our game and getting into our offensive flow. She is just a tough kid.”

But it wasn’t enough on this night, as Washington continued its strong play in the games that followed that previous loss to Frazier.

The Prexies have won their past five games by an average margin of 23 points.

“We have to just keep playing high-intensity defense,” said Maltony. “Defense is our best form of offense. If we get into some sort of foul trouble, then we will make a change to our game plan. Right now, its defense first and offense second.”