Sydney Bacon of North Union fights her way to the basket while a Tecumseh defender attempts to block the shot. Bacon tallied four points during NU’s 69-58 loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
North Union’s girls basketball team hit its first bump in the road with a 69-58 loss to the Lady Arrows of Tecumseh on Wednesday.
Second-year head coach Bre Nauman said her team should have won the contest.
“I feel like we have the right match-ups,” she said. “We have the right personel.
“We have a deep bench. We have multiple people to go to, but we are not taking care of the basketball. It is as simple as that.”
NU turned the ball over 28 times against Tecumseh’s constant pressing defense.
The Arrows converted those miscues into 23 point.
“Our turnovers the last two games have been way too high to even win a basketball game,” said Nauman. “That is really what it comes down to… taking care of the basketball.”
Despite the high number of turnovers, the Lady Cats kept the game tight with their post players cleaning up the boards for 29 rebounds.
Tecumseh took a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretched the halftime margin to 33-23.
The Cats turned over the majority of their offensive chances during the second frame.
Even with the poor passing in the first half , Nauman believes this team is a leg above last year.
“We are definitely a new team,” she said. “It is early in the season, but we know how to play together.
“We know what each other is capable of doing,” said Nauman. “Our intensity is just wavering.
“There is too much up and down… we’ve got to try and figure out that balance throughout the game.”
The Lady Cats’ intensity picked up in the second half.
Gabby Zeigler came off the bench in the third quarter and scored four points.
Journey Blevins helped with the inside game with four, while Kori Marvin and Madison Amstutz combined for nine points to stay within striking range (54-40) at he end of the third set.
Nauman said the addition of much-needed bench depth has its pros and cons.
“We have players who on any varsity team that would have 20-30 minutes a night,” she said. “We have gone from looking for a sub to having a bench full of threats.
“We are still trying to get our rotations down and learning how to use our advantages.”
The Lady Cats started figuring out those matchups in the final quarter.
Ziegler picked up eight of her 16 points as NU went on a nine-point run.
That narrowed NU’s deficit 54-49.
Alyssa Guy got in on the shooting with five points.
NU outscored Tecumseh 18-15 in the fourth period, but the intensity levels started to fade.
Tecumseh went on a late run and handed NU its first loss of the season.
Nauman said she was grateful to face the early challenge.
“We just have to learn how to handle adversity and we really haven’t been challenged yet,” she said. “We just need to go back to the drawing board on how we handle those tough situations.
“I’m glad that we faced adversity so early in the season, so we can make the needed adjustments.”
The Lady Cats (3-1) will return travel to Indian Lake on Saturday.
Tecumseh
Chinn 8-0-17, Hardness 6-0-14, Russell 4-3-12, Mastin 3-5-11, Gaber 2-3-7, Moore 3-0-6, Back 0-2-2. Totals 26-13-69.
Three-point goals: Hardness 2, Russell 2, Chinn 1.
North Union
Zeigler 8-0-16, Blevins 4-6-14, Amstutz 3-2-9, Hoffman 2-1-6, Guy 2-0-5, Bacon 2-0-4, Marvin 1-2-4. Totals 22-11-58.
Three-point goals: Amstutz 1, Hoffman 1, Guy 1.
Kori Marvin of North Union leaps for a layup during a contest against Tecumseh on Wednesday. Marvin scored four points during the loss. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)