Running the offense proved difficult for the North Callaway girls Tuesday night at home against Hallsville.
Points have been hard to come by so far this season for the Ladybirds, as they have lost five consecutive games after their 60-32 loss to Hallsville, scoring 34.6 points per game in those games. North Callaway has managed to keep some opponents close with its defense — losing 49-46 in its previous game against Community and dropping a 30-28 game to Harrisburg — but couldn’t do that against the Lady Indians, giving up their most points this season.
On Tuesday, head coach Tim Turlington said it all started with North Callaway (2-6) failing to run its offense properly, as there were several instances throughout the game the Ladybirds lost the handle on the ball while players were in motion.
“We didn’t do a very good job screening,” Turlington said. “We worked a lot on timing and timing of the offense, but for whatever reason, we had very little to none of that tonight. We’re getting a little pressure and pressure affected us tonight.
Hallsville (7-2) took advantage of these mistakes to jump ahead 12-2 with 3:19 left in the first quarter. The Lady Indians showcased a balanced scoring attack that would see eight players score, with seven of them getting on the scoreboard by the end of one.
Ashlyn Hough strayed away from the paint to knock down a 3-pointer to give Hallsville its third basket from beyond the arc, giving the Lady Indians a 20-2 lead after one. North Callaway had one bucket in the first minute of the game after freshman Natalie Shyrock knocked down a jumper in the lane.
Turlington said part of the problem for the Ladybirds offensively this season is they need to be more aggressive, driving the ball to the rim and taking shots at the free-throw line when possible.
“We’re just being a little bit too careful,” Turlington said. “We’re trying to play around people. Instead of going at ’em and being determined when they drive, determined with the dribble, protect the ball and stuff like that we talk about all the time, we weren’t. When you’re not, good teams make you pay.”
Turlington said the Ladybirds did a better job of this when they made a run in the second quarter, chipping away at the Hallsville lead until it was 25-17 with just less than a minute left until halftime after a jumper from senior Ryelle Schmauch.
Sophomore Abrielle Burgher was the only Ladybirds to reach double figures, starting with her nine-point second quarter to give North Callaway a lift and hope early in the game. She finished with a team-high 13 points off the bench.
Turlington said Burgher has been a starter this season but has tried to shake up the lineup to end the team’s skid, which showed positive results in the second quarter.
“She played real well tonight,” Turlington said. “She’s doing good things that put the ball in the hole. We need a couple more people doing that. We got the ability. They are great girls that work hard and show up on time. We just have to be better at what we do and do it at a higher level.”
Before the end of the second quarter, Avery Oetting hit a 3-pointer to give Hallsville a 30-17 halftime lead and picked up where she left off in the third quarter. She finished the game with 20 points, rattling off 10 of them in the third before heading back to the bench for a breather. North Callaway trailed 50-26 after three quarters.
Turlington said Hallsville did a nice job inside with rebounding — “jumping up and getting it” while the Ladybirds were merely “reaching up and tipping it” — which also reinforced the idea the Ladybirds need to be more aggressive and physical in the future to avoid being defeated like this.
“We made a good run there (in the second quarter) to get ourselves back into it,” Turlington said. “We were playing pretty well. We’ve got to be more physical on both sides. That’s just part of the game. That is the game.”
North Callaway (1-1 EMO) is back at it at 6 p.m. Thursday when the Ladybirds host Eastern Missouri Conference foe Montgomery County (7-3, 2-0 EMO)