Poland hands Indian Creek girls first loss of the season
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WINTERSVILLE -- In order for the Indian Creek girls basketball team to keep improving, it must face tougher competition in the regular season.
When head coach Steve Eft learned that Poland had an open date earlier this week, he called the school immediately, and both agreed on a Wednesday afternoon contest.
The Bulldogs were very similar to the Redskins. In the end, Poland rode a strong first quarter, quick feet, pressure defense and a late scoring run to squeak by Creek, 43-36. It marked the end of the Redskins' seven-game winning streak to begin the season.
"I want to say thanks to their coach for coming down on such short notice," Eft said. "Two evenly matched teams is great for both schools. Both teams got better. Unfortunately, we just ended up on the wrong end. This is how you get better.
"When they had an opening on their schedule and they agreed to come down, we were really excited. It's just going to make us better, and ultimately that's what we wanted."
The Bulldogs (5-1) jumped right out of the gates and led, 16-4, after the opening quarter. After that, the Redskins (7-1) looked like themselves on the defensive end, forcing 23 turnovers overall.
However, the offense was in a funk and could not get out of it.
"We definitely struggled offensively. That's probably a testament to their defense," Eft said. "We just didn't have it (Wednesday), and sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. I thought we did a really good job of adjusting to them after the first quarter. But, when you're down 16-4, it takes you a little longer to get into the flow.
"With a sluggish start like that, that falls on me. I didn't have the girls as prepared as (Poland) did."
The Bulldogs led, 20-13, at halftime. Creek's Taylor Jones produced 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half. The rest of the team combined for four points (two each by Kylie Kiger and Makenzie Taylor).
Jones was a beast all game long, finishing with 18 points and 17 rebounds. The problem was getting everybody else in the scoring column. Kiger only managed seven points total and made one 3-pointer.
"You have a girl who averages more than 20 points a game and is close to 1,000 career, you do your best to control her," Poland head coach Nick Blanch said regarding Kiger. "You want her to reach that milestone, but you don't want her to reach it against you. It was added fuel for us, and we pride ourselves on that. Defense fuels our offense.
"I think we frustrated her a little bit, but she'll get better because of it. I feel for the teams coming up on their schedule because I'm sure she'll make up for this."
Creek did manage to cut the deficit to 29-27 late in the third following a mini 7-2 scoring run. The Bulldogs, though, sprinted to a 9-0 run and regained a double-digit advantage in the fourth.
"You just have to be able to weather the storm. We know we're never going to play four quarters perfectly like we did in the first," Blanch said. "We knew they would mount a comeback because good teams always do. They had their run, and our thing for our girls was to keep plugging away. We made the most of it."
Poland also won the battle at the boards with a 40-28 edge in rebounds. Another factor that worked against Creek came from the charity stripe. The Redskins were only 7 of 17 from the foul line. Poland finished 3 of 6. Leading the Bulldogs was senior Jackie Grisdale, who collected a game-high 19 points, 15 rebounds and two assists. She had 12 points and nine rebounds before halftime.
"She's going to be a find for whoever takes her in college," Blanch said. "She is the coach's kid. Her dad is a 500-win coach. Her mom was a collegiate basketball player, so she has it in the genes. She's also a gym rat. She's going to graduate high school with 20 varsity letters. She excels in every sport, but basketball is her favorite. It's no accident the way she plays -- it's hard work paying off."
Also for Poland, Morgan Kluchar produced six points, six boards and two dimes. Abby Farber also scored six points. Lizzy Herdman added five points and five rebounds off the bench.
Taylor finished with eight points (six in the third quarter), five rebounds and three assists. Hailey Clark contributed two points, two rebounds and three assists.
ONE 1,000, TWO 1,000
Kiger entered Wednesday's contest 18 points shy of 1,000 career, while Jones was 38 away. Their next chance will tentatively be against Edison on Monday.
In the season opener on Nov. 23, Kiger scored a program-record 40 points and Jones 23 against the Wildcats.
JV CONTEST
Poland also won the jayvee game, 56-32. Katie McDonald led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Creek's Kylie Anderson had 11.
Poland 43, Indian Creek 36
Poland 16 4 11 12 -- 43
Creek 4 9 14 9 -- 36
POLAND (5-1): Farber 3 0-0 6; Harrell 1 0-0 2; Grisdale 8 1-2 19; Kluchar 3 0-1 6; Brant 1 1-2 3; Daniels 0 0-0 0; Herdman 2 1-1 5; Cougras 1 0-0 2; Forsyth 0 0-0 0; McDonald 0 0-0 0; Nicholudis 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19, 3-6: 43.
INDIAN CREEK (7-1): Kiger 2 2-2 7; Taylor 4 0-4 8; Copeland 0 0-2 0; Clark 1 0-0 2; Jones 7 4-7 18; Starkey 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 14, 7-17: 36.
3-POINT GOALS: Poland 2 (Grisdale 2); Indian Creek 1 (Kiger). REBOUNDS: Poland 40 (Grisdale 15); Indian Creek 28 (Jones 17). ASSISTS: Poland 8 (3 tied with 2 each); Indian Creek 11 (3 tied with 3 each). TURNOVERS: Poland 23; Indian Creek 20.