Hornettes Split Two Games
The Nashville Hornettes girls basketball team split their two matchups this week as they faced off against the Carlyle Lady Indians and the Central Lady Cougars. The Hornettes grabbed a 57-38 win over Carlyle, before falling the Central 40-33 in the first round of the Highland Girls Basketball Invitational.
The Nashville Hornettes girls basketball team won their sixth straight game as they defeated Carlyle on January 12. A close game in the first quarter, the Hornettes used a big second quarter to defeat the Lady Indians 57-38.
The Hornettes led 15-14 after the first quarter of play, but were able to build a big lead in the second, as they outscored Carlyle 13-2. The Hornettes came out after halftime, and continued to build their lead as the second half started. Nashville outscored Carlyle 20-16 in a high-scoring quarter to take a 14 point lead into the final quarter of play. In the fourth, the Hornettes were able to close out their 15th victory of the season.
Paige Kasten led the way with 22 points in the win, followed by Karly Stanowski with 13 points. Rachael Kell added 10 points, while Janie Holle chipped in six points. Libby Ahlers scored four points in the win, and Sabrina Kollbaum rounded out the scoring with two points.
The Hornettes began play in the Highland Girls Basketball Tournament a couple days late due to inclement weather. All of the games that were scheduled for Saturday January 14, were moved to Monday January 16. The Hornettes had the final game of the day as they faced off against Breese Central.
The Hornettes got off to a good start in the game, as they outscored Central 8-2 in the first quarter. A defensive struggle with both teams struggling to find points, the game stayed 8-2 for over half of the second quarter. The Lady Cougars finally broke through in the second quarter as Central's Clarece Jansen hit a basket with 2:12 remaining in the first half. Both teams would trade baskets from there, but the Hornettes still led 13-8 at halftime.
After the break the Hornettes were able to take advantage of key turnovers by Nashville as they outscored the Hornettes 14-2 in the third quarter to take a 22-15 lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Hornettes would fall behind by as many 14 but fought back late. The Hornettes could not complete a comeback as the Lady Cougars made key free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
Hornettes coach Doug Althoff talked about both team's defense in the game. "I think we had 17 (turnovers) for the game. You know they are quick and athletic, and you've got to give them credit, their defense was stellar tonight, I thought. We just couldn't do anything. We couldn't run sets, couldn't run our offense, and they had us pushed out so far from the bucket. You have to tip your hat, they played well. I can't complain too much about our defense either. I thought our defense wasn't too bad either, we just couldn't get the ball in the bucket, and got behind too far, and it was over."
After the game, Central's coach Nathan Rueter talked about his team's defense. "I think we never really let them settle into a flow offensively, sometimes I question our ability to do what we did tonight, but for whatever reason tonight was a good night for us defensively, the kids came out and really challenged passing lanes, and challeneged ball handlers, and we were able to disrupt Nashville's ball movement and flow and they were never really able to get comfortable."
The Hornettes finished with two players in double figures, as Kasten finished with 12 points, and Stanowski finished with 11 points. Ahlers added six points, while Kollbaum finished with four points.
Karly Stanowski fights down low during the Hornettes 40-33 loss to Central on January 16.
