Bellefontaine’s zone defense slowed West Liberty-Salem’s offense a bit on Thursday, but the Tigers found some punch when they needed it.
West Liberty-Salem’s Kelsey Day, right, drives to the basket against Bellefontaine’s Chalony Tolliver during Thursday’s game at Bellefontaine. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MATT HAMMOND)
The host Chiefs trailed by just four points midway through the third quarter before WL-Salem pulled away for a 53-39 victory in a non-league girls basketball game.
WL-Salem is now 12-1 on the season, while the Chiefs fall to 6-8.
“We got a little lackadaisical at times offensively,” said WL-Salem head coach Dennis McIntosh. “We don’t have a 6-4 center to toss the ball to, but we still have to try to get the ball into the paint.
“We haven’t seen too many zone defenses. We work on it in practice, but it is not quite the same when you see it in a game. We will keep working and use this film to show our girls ways we can attack a zone better.”
It was a gritty effort for the underdog Chiefs, but they were unable to dial up enough offense to stay with the talented Tigers down the stretch.
“They have a great team,” said Bellefontaine head coach Henry Stolly. “I was pleased with our competitiveness. We knew these last two weeks were going to be a challenging part of the schedule for our young team. We must keep our focus on getting better each day by working on things we can control. I have confidence our players will continue to work hard and improve as we move forward.”
Read complete story Friday’s Examiner.
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