Golden Hawk girls struggle against Tipton

by Coach Marc Pennington
The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks continued to struggle offensively in a 45-34 loss at Tipton Tuesday, December 15. The Hawks connected on just 4-15 free throws and shot just 29 percent from the floor in the second half. The lady Hawks stayed close throughout, trailing by just two after one quarter, six at half, and six to start the fourth.
Mid-Prairie outrebounded Tipton 28-27 and forced 25 turnovers. Mid-Prairie did commit 27 turnovers, many of the unforced variety.
Mid-Prairie had more balance in the scoring column. Erin Cayton and Taylor Hershberger each scored 10 points, Mallory McArtor had nine, Kattie Redlinger and Erika Murphy two, and Brittnee Stumpf one point.
Hershberger led all Hawks with nine rebounds, McArtor had seven, and Cayton six. The Hawks hit the road for their final two games before the holiday break by travelling to Durant for a JV/V doubleheader Friday and at Solon Tuesday in a girls/boys varsity doubleheader.
Coach’s comments: This was a tough loss for our kids, especially considering we felt we were just as good a team as Tipton. We continue to really struggle shooting free throws. This is the second game this year that the outcome could have been different had we make a higher percentage of free throws.
We rebounded better tonight, and I thought our half-court defense was better. We cut down our turnovers, but still committed way too many to expect to win a game. Of the 28 turnovers, roughly 20 were our own mistakes and unforced. We will continue to work on ball security and make the easy pass to decrease that number.
I think our kids are starting to get more comfortable with the speed of the varsity game. We just need to keep practicing well and keep chipping away and the results will follow.
Mid-Prairie stats: Meghan Redlinger 1 steal, 1 deflection; Oliva Lugar 1 rebound, 2 deflections, 1 assist; Erin Cayton 5 0-1 10, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 deflections, 2 assists; Mallory McArtor 4 1-8 9, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 6 deflections, 2 assists; Kattie Redlinger 1 0-0 2, 1 steal, 2 deflections; Taylor Hershberger 4 2-4 10, 9 rebounds, 2 assists; Brittnee Stumpf 0 1-2 1, 1 rebound; Mariah Swartzentruber 2 rebounds, 5 deflections 2 assists; Erika Murphy 1 0-0 2, 2 rebounds, 1 deflection.