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December 10, 1999
No. 1 Falcons trounce WWGBy BOB VARMETTE Journal Sports Writer JEFFERS -- Even when they're bad, they're good. It was a miserable first half. And they still led by eight points at half. After all, "they" are the Red Rock Central Falcons. The Class A No. 1-rated squad struggled for three quarters with the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers, but the Falcons finally found their game and got a 70-38 win in Red Rock Conference girls basketball Thursday night. "It was a God-awful first half," RRC coach Gary Gillis said. "It might well have been the worst half of basketball in the seven-year history of Red Rock Central basketball." A pretty harsh critique, but not unwarranted. The Falcons shot only 28 percent in the first half. With the Chargers (2-2, 2-2) keeping pace in the first quarter, they were emboldened. The Falcons (4-0, 4-0) were often lackadaisical and confused. "We battled them for three quarters," WWG coach Leo Theisen said. "They're not a bad ball team. ... We got a little fatigued because we don't have the depth." A key scratch for the Chargers was senior guard Sophie Hansen -- a 22-point per game scorer out with an ankle injury. "We didn't have her, and that hurt us," Theisen said. "When it comes to crunch time, she's kind of our go-to girl. And tonight, she wasn't there." Two other players also did not dress for WWG due to injuries. Freshman Katie Hansen topped the Chargers with 16 points -- the only WWG player to reach double figures. Katie Hansen also led WWG with nine rebounds. The key to RRC surviving its early woes was the number of shots. RRC shot only 19 percent in the second quarter, but they got 19 shots to only 11 for WWG. The key to that was the boards -- the Falcons picked up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half alone and outboarded the Chargers 54-27 for the game. Mary DeCock led the Falcon rebounders with 12. DeCock was also the catalyst for the Falcons' more Falcon-like offensive performance in the second half. The 5-foot-9 senior forward scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the final two quarters, including six during a third-quarter run by RRC that saw the Falcons soar from a 37-29 margin with 2:02 in the quarter to a 49-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. "I think we all realized that we can't take anyone for granted," DeCock said. "We knew that we could play better. A lot of it was our defense because our defense triggers our offense." The offense, though, did well once it warmed up. Mandey Gillis added 13 points for the Falcons, despite a miserable shooting night. Mandey Gillis went 4-for-14 from the field and 2-for-10 from 3-point land, but the 5-foot-7 senior guard hit a pair of key baskets early in the fourth quarter, including a 3 that was part of RRC turning a close game into a rout. Leading 49-32 at the quarter break, RRC went on an 8-1 run to start the final quarter and DeCock was part of the surge, scoring six points in the final quarter as the Falcons pulled away quickly from the tiring Chargers. "No one on the team played how they should have in the first half," DeCock said. "We need at least one of two people to step up." Carrie Pankonin added 10 points for the Falcons and grabbed nine rebounds. "In the second half, the tempo was a little bit different," Gary Gillis said. "We played instead of just standing flat-footed. It's a good learning experience. I hope we can learn from it. It certainly was a realistic game in the first half." In the junior varsity game, RRC defeated WWG, 65-16. WWG 15 4 13 6 -- 38 RRC 18 9 22 21 -- 70 WWG (38): Enstad 0-1 2-2 2, LeBoutillier 1-9 4-6 7, Dibble 2-2 0-0 4, Kolar 0-0 0-0 0, Freeburg 3-8 1-4 7, A. Doubler 0-0 0-0 0, K. Hansen 6-9 5-14 16, Munson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 12-34 10-24 38. RRC (70): Lyle 0-0 0-0 0, Altermatt 2-6 0-0 4, Gillis 4-14 3-4 13, Weber 3-12 0-2 8, Goeman 4-5 0-0 9, Madson 0-3 1-3 1, DeCock 10-19 2-2 22, Pankonin 3-6 4-6 10, Gramstad 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-66 10-15 70. 3-Point Goals -- WWG 2-5 (LeBoutillier 1-4, Hansen 1-1), RRC 6-19 (Gillis 2-10, Weber 2-6 Goeman 1-2, Altermatt 1-1, Pankonin 0-1). Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- WWG 27 (Hansen 9), RRC 54 (DeCock 12). Total Fouls -- WWG 15, RRC 19. Turnovers -- WWG 22, RRC 15.
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