Pioneers dominate early, cruise to second straight blowout victory 84-68.
Delta had some much needed momentum going into their matchup on Jan. 30 against Macomb Community College. They had just come off a 79-50 drubbing of St. Clair, and were looking to win the rematch after beating Macomb earlier in the year, 83-77 in OT. It took the Pioneers about 10 minutes to really find themselves in this one, with the score virtually deadlocked. However, once the shots started to fall, they never looked back. They took a 16-point lead into the half and never came close to relinquishing it with a final score of 84-68.
“Offensively we are now understanding that we are only successful if we are all involved,” explains Head Coach Carlos McMath. “But more importantly we are allowing our offense to be fueled by our defensive intensity.”
Martel Handley led the way in scoring with 18 points on 7-11 shooting; he also added eight rebounds and a couple assists. Tyler Ellis had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. As a team they shot over 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from three point range. While free throws have been an issue for them in the past, it was no problem on this day as they shot 79 percent from the charity stripe. This game also included the first successful dunk in a home game thanks to a Tyler Ellis breakaway slam. The defense was the difference in the game, never letting up even with the lead, and forcing multiple turnovers.
“Defensively, I believe we are trusting in each other to do their job,” says McMath. “In turn we can focus on our duties rather than trying to do our job, and the next men’s as well. Ultimately, we are sacrificing our bodies for the greater success of the team.”
The win pushes Delta to a 5-4 record in conference play. As the season wears on, the team is beginning to peak at the right time with the tournament just around the corner.
“Our coach really stresses defense at practice,” says Point Guard Jon Swift. “We’re finally clicking and understanding the concepts he’s taught us. We’re really applying it to the game and it’s really working for us.”
Delta’s next home game is this Saturday, Feb. 13 against Henry Ford.
Lady Pioneers struggle to score, fall to Macomb.
Playing on Jan. 30, in their first Saturday home game in over a month, the Lady Pioneers were looking to get revenge in their first conference rematch of the season against Macomb Community College. From the onset of the game, it looked as though someone put a lid over the Lady Pioneers’ rim because they struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket.
“We allowed foul trouble and early missed shots to bother us mentally,” explains Head Coach Kelly Miller. “We were over thinking shot selection by passing up the shot we’d normally take and forcing other shots just to see something go in.”
Delta ended up shooting a meager 29 percent from the field. They shot 3-26 from three point range and they only assisted on five of their baskets on their way to 53-60 defeat. Individually, Jayde Abenth played well. She finished with 10 points on four of six shooting, along with seven rebounds in a limited role on offense. Lauren Rogers finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points to go with 14 rebounds.
“We locked the game down on defense, but our focus wasn’t there on offense,” says point guard Brooke Schutte. “We need to work on better ball movement in order to get better and more open shots.”
The Lady Pioneers were in this game until the very end, they were only down 53-56 with less than a minute to play, and they just ran out of time in the end. They didn’t struggle to find open looks in this game, they just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities that they had.
“It wasn’t defensively forced turnovers that we lost, it was forcing the issue on the offensive end to try and score that caused most of our turnovers,” says Miller. “We have to take our time and let the game come to us. We have to let it flow and not be so eager to make something happen that we’re taking ourselves out of plays, and be more patient to allow the play to develop.”
With the loss, the Lady Pioneers are now 12-9 on the season and 5-4 in conference play. This knocks them down to fifth in the eastern conference, with seven games left to play in the regular season. Their next upcoming home game is Saturday, Feb. 13 against Henry Ford.
“When the games are so close like that, all you can do is think about the things you could have done better,” says Schutte. “We need to take those things and practice them so we can better prepare ourselves for other games like that.”
By Ethan Moore, Sports Editor.