The basketball season has tipped off and two of Polk County’s teams were featured in Dallardsville Tuesday, as Big Sandy survived a scare from Onalaska, 45-41.
Big Sandy controlled the game through the opening quarter, racing out to an 18-8 advantage. Guard Shanaya Poncho was a large factor, hitting four 3-pointers to lead all.
Onalaska would outscore the home Lady Cats over the next two periods, largely due to a press that caused several turnovers. The team by the lake has a new energy this season under first-time head coach Darrion Anderson.
“Coach does a good job with those kids, and they have significantly improved with what they've been doing,” Big Sandy coach Ryan Alec said of Onalaska. “He has them playing hard and they are all over the place, working. They gave us fits throughout the course of the game. They didn't come out pressing to start off the game and I was hoping they wouldn't. They (eventually) came out in it, and we did the best we could. Turnovers got us a few times, but I thought we kept our composure for the most part in the second half.”
Onalaska worked their way back into the game behind the long-distance shooting of Kayla Houser and scoring of Shaylan Linear.
“I told the girls what we need to do to get it done and come back,” Anderson said. “I said, ‘The game is not over, we are right where we need to be at the right time.’ We came through and we made some plays down the stretch, and we had a few things that got us there at the end, but that is just the nature of the game.
“I think we've got something special here. We've got to continue to come to work every day and stay disciplined and stay locked in on what we are supposed to be doing. We have to stay the course and trust in each other on every play.”
Early in the fourth, Onalaska took a 37-36 lead, holding it until about two and a half minutes to go in the contest. Tied at 40, Big Sandy hit a field goal with 2:12 left and would keep the lead until the final buzzer.
The Big Sandy win is the 299th in Alec’s career.
We survived a scare the other night too against PCA (Pineywoods Christian Academy). I told the girls that these past two games have been grind-it-out games,” Alec said. “We've had to really rely on our defense and physical play, blocking out and rebounding. When we watch film and we studied to get them prepared for the game today, we had to make sure that we contained (Faith Tyerman) and (Kayla Houser) from the 3-point line. (Faylin Hayes) for them, she doesn't start, but she is a beast on the boards. Those are really the three players that we emphasized for them on the defensive end.”
Poncho led all scores with 20 points, while Macelynn Clark had seven and Samara Sadler had six. For Onalaska, Houser and Linear each produced a dozen points, and Kelli Arce had six.
Anderson is excited for what his team can accomplish in his first season. They play at Shepherd before returning home for Pollok Central Tuesday.
“We've got a great group of seniors and they lead well in practice and they talk to the younger people to keep their head up and try to keep their energy high,” Anderson said. “I am really thankful for that group of seniors. We also have a great young group that is coming in and going to be the future here at Onalaska. It is going to be bright.”
The Lady Cats of Dallardsville move to 2-0 on the year, with a tough challenge at Chireno next up and hosting Centerville Tuesday.
“We have to improve on taking care of the ball. It's hard to simulate quickness and speed in practice,” Alec said. “We've got a lot of upperclassmen and we are carrying a lot of juniors and seniors. Our group went out in the summertime and worked. I can tell from playing in the offseason how that is transitioned to the course of the season for us. One thing that has gotten better in our guard play is our shooting. When you go out and play in Houston, you're going to be playing against kids that are 5A and 6A level, and that can only make you better. We still have things to work on as a team, just kind of settling down and not getting in too big of a hurry. Overall, I am proud of our effort in this game and the last game. We worked really hard to come out with both of those wins.”
