Tigers can’t close on Century
Published 1:24 am Sunday, January 24, 2010
Albert Lea’s mettle in tight games was once again on the line Saturday when the Tigers girls’ basketball team played Rochester Century at Albert Lea High School, but this time Albert Lea did not deliver.
Behind a feisty defense which forced 13 Albert Lea turnovers and patient offense the Panthers held off the hard-charging Tigers in the second half for a 56-46 victory.
Albert Lea (6-7, 4-3 Big Nine) had several chances to take the lead in the second half but went nearly the final 6 minutes of the game without a field goal.
With 6:19 left to play Morgan Stadheim, who finished with a team-high 14 points, hit two free throws to draw the Tigers within one at 45-44 but turnovers, forced shots and poor shot selection cost Albert Lea a chance to go ahead when Century went the next 3 minutes without a field goal.
Mallory Cochran’s 3-pointer with 3:04 left to play put the Panthers (7-8, 5-4 Big Nine) up 48-44 and Taylor Wells’ layup on the ensuing possession iced the game as Century closed the game on a 11-2 run.
Cochran’s go-ahead 3-pointer seemed a fitting conclusion after the game the Century junior put together. Cochran led the Panthers with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Cochran had 11 points in the first half and battled through foul trouble in the second half to arrive just in time for Century.
The Panthers put the full-court press on the Tigers throughout the second half after Albert Lea struggled with it in the first half. Despite handling the press better in the second half the Tigers still made turnovers at crucial times and started forcing things offensively.
“Against pressure all it wants you to do is take quick shots,” said Albert Lea head coach Sean Gillam. “We wound up at the end of the game settling for a lot of quick shots. We had some point blank shots that just did not drop. When those don’t go down it switches the entire dynamic of what’s able to go on.”
Albert Lea missed two free throws, two 3-pointers and a pair of shots underneath the basket and committed a turnover on a 2-on-1 break during the 3 minutes Century clung to a one-point lead.
The Tigers had shown the ability to close out tight ball games in previous contests with a one-point victory over Mankato East and a two-point victory over John Marshall, but this time they stubbed their toes trying to get back into the game.
Albert Lea fell behind by nine at halftime after Lizzie Stenhaug hit a jumpshot at the buzzer and struggled to cut the deficit to one possession in the second half.
“I think that when they went to the 2-3 zone that it hurt us in the fact that we didn’t make a lot of baskets on it,” Gillam said. “But if you look we got a couple of point-blank, on-the-block shots to our post players and they just didn’t go down.”
The Tigers face Faribault Tuesday in Albert Lea.
Rochester Century 56, Albert Lea 46
Century 35 21 — 56
Albert Lea 26 20 — 46
Century scoring: Mallory Cochran 21, Lizzie Stenhaug 14, Taylor Wells 10, Jessica Hazelton 4, Maggie Pumper 3, Katie Leidall 2, Mishawna Lindsey 2.
Albert Lea scoring: Morgan Stadheim 14, Abbey Arends 13, Mikaela Pierson 8, Alyssa Sager 3, Skyler Anderson 2, Sarah Wenum 2, Taylor Friehl 2.