Lady Pirates seize district title Friday with strong defensive effort

Posted 3/4/20

In many cases, good defense leads to better

offense, and the Lady Pirates (15-9) on Friday certainly proved that with a 45-27 win over Otterville to claim their first district championship in …

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Lady Pirates seize district title Friday with strong defensive effort

Posted

In many cases, good defense leads to better

offense, and the Lady Pirates (15-9) on Friday certainly proved that with a 45-27 win over Otterville to claim their first district championship in seven years, and the first for Coach John Leach.

“Our defense was stellar tonight, and that’s what won it,” said Leach. “We got our offense going in the second half. I can’t be any more proud. It’s overwhelming.

Everything’s kind of falling into place this year. Being a small school and playing the

schedule we play, and getting beat up, and coming back is just a credit to the

girls.”

The first quarter was very slow, with Chamois trailing 6-5 at the start of the second. What followed was defensive dominance, as the Lady Pirates held Otterville scoreless through the second half to hold a 12-6 lead at the break.

There was a little frustration at halftime, but Leach talked the girls out of it before returning to the Capital City hardwood.

“We needed to move on offense more,” said Leach.

“We were standing around, because we were messed up with their zone. We practiced it as best we could, but in real life, it’s hard because I don’t have 10 players. We get the high school boys out there and my assistant help, and we just do the best we can.”

Leach said he was confident the girls would settle down and play their game.

“Through the year, we’ve had trouble with zone, but we started moving a little bit, and told them some things to do,” said Leach. “My assistants (Jake Trachsel and Ethan Hagenhoff) helped me out a lot too because they’re former basketball players. I knew we would wear them down on defense, and they wouldn’t do so well on offense.”

It didn’t take long for the Lady Pirates to find that offensive groove as Katie Keilholz (19) and MaKenna Wuelling (17) combined for eight three-pointers in the game.

“I just can’t say enough about Mac and Katie,” said Leach. “They’re great players that come around once in a great while, and I’m glad they’re on my team.”

Keilholz went 5-10 from three-point range while Wuelling covered 3-9, and once the outside shots began to fall, there was a shift in the dynamic of the game as the Lady Pirates went on a 17-9 run in the third.

Keilholz said she expected a close game, and early on, she was frustrated.

“My shots weren’t falling, but the other girls stepped up and helped,” said Keilholz. “Our defense really helped the offense tonight.”

After losing in the first round last year, Keilholz said she and her teammates were very motivated to succeed

this year. “It was great having such a big crowd of fans here cheering us on tonight,” she said. “It got us going, and it was a huge

help. We wanted to do well for our hometown. This is a big accomplishment for us as a team.”

Wuelling agreed that the first quarter and even through most of the second, wasn’t a good performance for her, as shots just refused to fall. “Finally, finally, we fixed it, and the flow of the game changed. We all came together as a team and everyone stepped up. We talked all day about how big this game was, and how much we wanted to win.

This was our best defensive game all year, and I’m so proud of my teammates.”

Wuelling said she was a little nervous going into the game, but like Keilholz, knew after last year’s firstround loss that losing wasn’t an option.

“We all wanted to play well, but there were definitely some nerves early on,” said Wuelling. “We’ve played against bigger teams all year, and we’ve had some tough games, but that really helped us when we

got to districts.”

Leach has said all year that other players needed to step up and help.

“And they did that tonight,” he said. “They all

stepped up huge both offensively and defensive. It was a complete team effort.”

Rebounding is a great example, as Alexis Slusser grabbed a team-high nine, Wuelling had eight, Ariel Owens and Claire Brandt

each posted seven, and Keilholz finished with two.

Chamois had a 33-18 advantage in rebounding against the Lady Eagles.

Offensively, Owens added four points, to go

with two each by Chloe Holloway and Slusser, and Brandt finished with one from the line.

Following a sloppy game against Bunceton in

the semifinals, Leach said he was pleased to see everything come together in the championship game.

“When we started district play, there was a totally different mindset and attitude,” said Leach. “I kept motivating them to get

into the gym and shoot, and do things that would make a difference, and they did

that.”

Chamois gave up a couple baskets early in the third and Otterville closed the gap to three points, but that was as close as the Lady Eagles would get the rest of the way.

At the 5:40 mark, Wuelling hit a three-pointer, and 33 seconds later, Keilholz drilled one. Every time Otterville scored, Chamois had a response, and Keilholz drained another

three with 3:15 to go in the third, which at the time gave the Lady Pirates a 24-13 lead. Keilholz covered two from the line on her next trip to the basket, and hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds to play in the frame. Wuelling put the icing on the cake with a block on a shot at the buzzer.

Otterville made shots including a three-pointer in the fourth, scoring nine in the final eight minutes, but Chamois wasn’t done, adding 16 to the tally, with two more three-pointers from Keilholz. Down the stretch,

when Chamois was fouled, the girls hit 5-7 in the final 1:33 and finished the game 15-21 from the stripe.

Defensively, Keilholz added a block and a steal, as Wuelling posted three steals to go with her block, and Owens had two steals.

The last time the Lady Pirates won a district title, Chamois went on to finish second in the state, but none of these girls have been part of a district championship, and Leach said it’s a great experience for them.

“We had a very tough season, and to have a winning record against our opponents is a plus for the girls,” said Leach. “They’ve come a long way since day one, and I couldn’t be any more proud of they way these girls have worked.”

Tuesday night’s sectional at Harrisburg against Community R-6, ranked number one in the state, was a tall order for the Lady Pirates.

“We’re going to go up there and play our hearts out, just like we did here,” said Leach after Friday’s game.

“Anything can happen in play. It doesn’t matter if you’re number one in the state or last. We’re going to have fun and get after Community.”

With a win, the Lady Pirates would play Friday at Moberly Area Community College in the quarterfinals.

A full recap of the state tournament will appear next week.