http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Many-shots-many-made-12435286.php
Many shots, many made
Tamarac's shooting leads them to 69-55 victory, 5-0 record
Published 11:58 pm, Friday, December 15, 2017
Mechanicville
Tamarac had an unfortunate but lighthearted moment in the first quarter Friday night, when a hard drive to the rim resulted in an awkward heave that sailed over the backboard.
The Bengals showed their stripes plenty of other ways in a 69-55 girls' basketball win at Mechanicville, proving through their pinpoint shooting just how tough it will be to unseat the defending Wasaren League champs.
They made 23 of their 26 free-throw attempts and also sank six three-pointers and a host of jumpers from just inside the arc.
"I don't think teams can play us man (to man defense)," Tamarac coach Curt Bailey said. "(We have) too many weapons. You've got to catch us on an off night with a zone, I think. These kids can shoot."
No argument from Mechanicville, which found its young team trailing 12-2 and 19-8 before getting behind by 14 points at halftime. The Red Raiders did go to some fourth-quarter man defense that helped them pull to a 12-11 points advantage across the last eight minutes. Really, they valiantly hung around the entire second half (31-31 score) and even made a few bursts that cut the margin to single digits before Tamarac's shooting prowess won out.
Emily Erickson led all scorers with 26 points, including four three-pointers in the win. Kayla Doody added 12, despite the senior point guard finding some first-half foul trouble.
Liz Machnick had 10 points while junior forward Renna Poulin added 19, including a host of soft jumpers.
Poulin actually got an earful from Bailey about leaving open Mechanicville's Taylor Grayson (four three-pointers, 12 points) in the second half.
And Tamarac's coach is, by Erickson's scouting report, likely to bend his players' ears about not settling for low-percentage outside shots.
"Coach really yells at us all of the time about it," Erickson said with a smile on her face. "He always drills into our brain that you can get a better shot."
Tamarac has a little bit of the feeling-prepared, feeling-invincible Golden State Warriors look.
They don't just bomb away three points at a time. They're just as likely to fake a hard drive and hit shots from 16 to 18 feet out from the hoop.
"There were a lot of offseason shooting drills, working on step-backs, hard dribbles into jump shots," Bailey said. "It's so nice to see them putting those into their game plan. So it's not surprising for me to see."
Tamarac struggled to hit those outside looks early, but still forced eight first-quarter foul shots — all makes, four by Erickson who finished hitting every one of the dozen she took.
She did all of her foul-line damage before halftime but added three threes after the break.
Bailey has a Class B juggernaut — now 5-0 overall, 3-0 in Wasaren games — that includes four seniors and a seven juniors.
"The bullseye is on our back," Bailey said. "But this was a big win for us. We've put ourselves in a really good position. More than anything, it was a statement to ourselves that we can win on the road."
Mechanicville coach Blain Goverski encouraged his group (that includes two sophomore starters) to "keep your composure and learn from this."
"I know we can play better, but I was proud of them in an early game to see how we'd handle a strong team like this," Goverski said. "(Tamarac) hit a lot of outside shots and they do so many things well. Sometimes that's all you can say about it."
