Turnovers cause trouble for the Lady Tigercats

The Lady Tigercats struggled against both St. John-Endicott and Tekoa-Oakesdale, losing both games on Jan. 6 and 7. The Lady Tigercats lost to St. John-Endicott with a final score of 35-53.

Logan Harder scored a total of 16 points, followed by Anne Fleming who scored eight points in the game. Kadie Whinery ended the night with five points while Jena Goude, Brooklynn Hostetler and Lindsey Miller all scored two points each.

“I’m really proud of the girls, they played really well from the beginning. It’s good to see them battle, and it was nice to see them play as well as they did,” said head coach Tim Stamper.

The Lady Tigercats continue to work on ball handling and controlling the ball better offensively. The turnovers that are caused have been leading to opposing teams converting the turnovers into points.

“Turnovers are the plague for us…” said Stamper. “They (St. John-Endicott) played really tough defense, trapping defense, and it bothered us.”

Even with continuous turnovers, the Lady Tigercats managed to improve the shooting percentage and spreading the ball around the court. The improved ball movement and teamwork allowed for more Lady Tigercats to score than in previous games.

The Lady Tigercats played Tekoa-Oakesdale on Jan. 7, ending the game with a final score of 58-27. Again, Harder led her team in points, scoring 11 points in the game.

Fleming scored five points, Whinery finished with four points and Hostetler scored three points in the game. Both Amber Dainty and Alexis Hopkins scored two points each. Goude worked as the primary defender causing turnovers for the Nighthawks but fouled out during the second half.

The Lady Tigercats look forward to the rescheduled game with Odessa-Harrington since the two teams have the same record.

“We hope to match up with them and play a good game. We’ve been waiting for a long time to get a chance to play them,” said Stamper.

The Lady Tigercats play Odessa-Harrington on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Washtucna. The team plays Rosalia for the first time on Friday, Jan. 13. The Lady Tigercats play Garfield/Palouse on Saturday, Jan. 14. Both the Rosalia and Gar/Pal games are in LaCrosse.

“Rosalia is a tough team. They run the floor well and play a solid game,” said Stamper. “Gar/Pal has a good post player we’ll have to take care of.”

The Lady Tigercats struggle to maintain control of the ball since the majority of teams play a trap defense or apply full court pressure. The team continues to work on remaining calm under pressure and moving the ball well on offense.

“Other teams trap, because they know they can, and the girls don’t like to be trapped and panic,” said Stamper.