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Lady Saints get set for conference play against PCC
The Advocate
The Lady Saints basketball team competed in two tournaments during winter break, posting an 8-4 record.
“Ultimately, I would have been happy if we just went 6-6 over the break against the teams we played against,” said Head Coach Larry Davis. “We didn’t play a single home game over the break and it showed how good a team we are against tough opponents.”
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The Saints started the break by winning the Bulldog Classic Dec. 5 and 6. The Saints played strong defense the whole tournament against Whatcom, Big Bend and Bellevue, holding all three teams to under 25 percent field goal shooting. (None of the teams shot better than 25 percent from the free throw line, either.)
“It was a statement tournament for us,” said Davis. “We knew we were better than those teams in the tournament and wanted to prove it.”
The Saints took on Columbia Basin Dec. 11 and pulled out another victory, 64-52. The Saints then played in the Skagit Valley Tournament from Dec. 18-20 where they placed fifth. The Saints beat Pierce in the first round, then lost to Spokane before facing off against Linn-Benton Community College, who also compete in the Southern Region, where the Saints won 61-46.
“Our scheduling this year was to stay away from teams in our conference until the regular season started,” said Davis. “Unfortunately, we had to face off against them (Linn-Benton). It is hard to beat a team three times in a season and our last game of the season is down at Linn-Benton. Linn-Benton is not going to just lay down for us at the end of the season. They will compete hard against us.”
Wrapping up winter break play, the Saints played against Yakima Valley Community College Jan. 2 where they lost 82-65.
“In our three losses this season (Yakima Valley, Spokane and Walla Walla), it has been a difference of free throws and second-chance points,” said Davis.
“They were all getting to the line with our fouls and getting rebounds for higher percentage shots in the paint. Ultimately we lost those games because we couldn’t finish and allowed the other teams to take over. We beat ourselves, they didn’t beat us.”
According to Davis, the winter break tournament schedule was to get his team prepared for the NWAACC tournament in March in Pasco, Wash.
“We are preparing for the NWAACC tournament,” said Davis. “We played a lot of back-to-back games and tournaments, which is exactly what the tournament is. We also faced off against teams that we could possibly be playing in the first round of the tournament such as Spokane, Big Bend or Bellevue, depending on how the seeding works out over the season. This way we are prepared and know what to do to win.”
Even with success, the Saints are still working on problems they have on the court.
“It is our communication,” Davis said. “We just don’t talk out on the court. We also have to work on our defensive rotations, leadership on the court and mental toughness. We are always working on these things.”
Another thing the Saints have worked on is finding a rotation that works after sophomore center Mackenzie Hodges and freshman guard Katie Oates left the team during the break for undisclosed reasons.
“We have a set rotation that has been working for us,” said Davis. “With them leaving, our rotation has changed but it obviously has been working out well.”
Davis said a surprise for the Saints has come from freshman Lauren Codling who he said has been rebounding for the Saints with great success. “She has been big on the boards for us as well as giving us that inside presence we have needed.”
With the regular season starting Saturday at home against the Portland Community College Panthers at 4 p.m., Davis said the team needs to be mentally prepared.
“Mentally I want us to go in and better ourselves. We need to show up and play. It is a game we can’t afford to not show up,” Davis said.
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