West Greene’s press strikes early, wears down Wash High
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Torri Finley, left, and Carley Allen guard West Greene’s McKenna Lampe during Friday’s game.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe, center, fights for a rebound with Washington’s Tamia Russell, left, and Carley Allen during Friday’s non-section game at West Greene High School.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
West Greene’s McKenna Lampe takes a shot as Washington’s Torri Finley goes for a block during Friday’s game.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Former Washington High School girls varsity head basketball coach Mike Maltony resigned less than two months ago.
ROGERSVILLE – As the first-quarter clock wound to 0:00 Friday night, Washington High School girls basketball coach Mike Maltony welcomed his team back to the bench, just thankful the first eight minutes of the game were finished.
What might have seemed like an eternity for Maltony, who watched the Prexies turn the ball over 12 times, including seven in the opening two-and-a-half minutes, the zeros on the scoreboard were accompanied by a 15-point deficit.
So what did Maltony do?
“I told the girls after the first quarter that (West Greene) doesn’t have the “Press Greene” shirts for nothing,” Maltony joked with his experienced, yet extremely young, group of players.
“We knew that they were going to come out and put pressure on us. It’s one of the first times we’ve experienced that this year. West Greene is up in your face, a full-court press and looking to create turnovers.”
And unlike other teams West Greene has ran through this season – the Pioneers won each of their first two games by 35 points and its last game by 42 – Washington punched right back.
Washington dominated the second and third quarters but eventually came up just short as it fell to West Greene, 54-45, in a non-section game.
“We preached over and over that we needed to start strong,” said West Greene coach Jordan Watson. “We never imagined scoring 25 points in a quarter against Wash High. We punched first, but they punched right back.”
With a 25-10 deficit, the clock and Wash High were refreshed with a new mindset to not become like past victims of “Press Greene.” Instead of succumbing to the constant West Greene pressure, the Prexies flipped the script with half-court pressure of their own to force turnovers.
Wash High scored 10 consecutive points to begin the second quarter, holding the Pioneers without a field goal for 3:32, to cut the lead to 25-20. The Prexies went on another 10-point run, sparked by two old-fashioned three-point plays by Torri Finley, to tie the score at 40-40 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
Winning both the second and third quarters by forcing 15 turnovers, Wash High caused Watson to put his hands on his head in disbelief and forced the Pioneers to do something they haven’t done yet in the young season – win a close game.
“We just had to slow down. We had to get ourselves together and take our time with their press,” Maltony said. “I think we just realized that we had to tighten up and control the ball. Then it came down to just making one shot at a time.”
The Prexies took their first lead of the game when Carley Allen, who finished with a team-high 15 points, connected on a baseline jumper early in the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Lampe twins, Madison and McKenna, ended any chance of West Greene (4-0) suffering its first loss of the season. The Lampes combined to score 10 fourth-quarter points and made all six of their free throws to give West Greene a lead it would protect.
“The girls scrapped for four quarters,” Watson said. “The big message for us was rebounding. We needed to be able to box out to win the game. The common theme of the teams that beat us last year was that they outrebounded us or had a dominant big girl.”
That message was received as the Pioneers held the rebounding edge, 37-30. Madison Lampe pulled down 11 rebounds to go with her 13 points.
McKenna Lampe finished with a game-high 17 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Kaitlyn Rizor had nine rebounds for the Pioneers.
Finley had 13 points for the Prexies (3-2).
“We need to play in close games like that,” Watson said. “We’re glad it was competitive. They are a really good team. They are going to make runs. For us, it was just about keeping to give those body blows. The cumulative effect of the press normally wears teams down. When we get to the fourth quarter and it’s close, we feel pretty confident.”