ELMA — Their shooting may have taken a holiday, but Elma’s girls did enough in other areas of the game to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a victory.
Dominating the second half with their rebounding and defense, the Eagles pulled away in the second half for a 58-39 win over Aberdeen in a non-league girls basketball game Monday at Elma.
Peyton Elliott scored 18 points to pace Elma (8-7). All nine Eagles who suited up shared in the pointmaking.
Junior forward Reagan Glanz scored 13 points in a fine all-around performance for Aberdeen (5-5).
The Eagles spoiled a homecoming of sorts for first-year Aberdeen coach Jeff Niemi, an Elma teacher who has coached several of the Eagle players at other levels.
Elma missed 15 of its first 16 shots and improved only to a concluding .277 in field-goal percentage.
The Eagles, however, were dominating the offensive glass from the outset, finishing with a 54-37 rebounding advantage. Remarkably, they didn’t make their first shot on a possession until the 4:12 mark of the second quarter.
“The tale of the game was rebounding, definitely,” Niemi summarized. “We’re undersized and I tell them that not just one person needs to block out, but everybody.”
The Eagles also picked up their defensive energy in the second half, forcing 18 of Aberdeen’s 30 turnovers in the final two quarters.
“We came out flat-footed, no intensity, the gym was quiet,” Elma coach Lisa Johnson said. “We emphasized at halftime that we needed to come out and get after it.”
Breaking Elma’s full-court pressure with surprising ease, the Bobcats led by as many as seven in the first quarter before the Eagles rallied to a 23-all halftime deadlock. It was still tied at 29 following a Glanz basket early in the third quarter.
Elliott’s jumper from the right wing with 4:32 remaining in the quarter gave Elma a permanent lead. The Eagles broke it open about a minute later with what amounted to a seven-point play.
After Elma’s Kayli Johnson nailed a 3-point shot from the top of the key, Niemi (protesting the lack of an Elma foul on the preceding sequence) was assessed a technical foul. Sutherby made both free throws and converted a short jumper on the ensuing inbounds play to make it 38-29 with 3:20 left in the period.
Six different Eagles scored in the fourth quarter as the hosts pulled away.
Sutherby had nine points, six rebounds and four blocked shots, while Elliott had six rebounds and five steals for Elma. Freshman Quin Mikel led Elma rebounders with 15, while sophomore Molly Johnston collected eight rebounds and six steals. Kayli Johnson, the daughter of the Eagle coach, scored all eight of her points in the second half.
Senior point guard Angel Jones and sixth woman Angel Jones had eight points apiece for Aberdeen. Niemi commended his team’s first-half performance, particularly in handling Elma’s press.
The Bobcats return to action tonight with an Evergreen 2A League match-up at home against Centralia. The Eagles journey to Forks for an Evergreen 1A League game Friday.
Aberdeen 13 10 10 6 — 39
Elma 8 15 20 15 — 58
Aberdeen (39) — Buckman 8, Glanz 13, Gallinger 4, Rabung, Swor 6, Jones 8, Slyter, Roberts, Krenz, Heikkila, Walsh. FG — 13-46 (.283). FT — 12-20.
Elma (58) — Elliott 18, Sutherby 9, Neary 2, Mikel 5, Johnston 8, Olson 3, Johnson 8, Heller 4, Rambo 1. FG — 18-65 (.277). FT — 19-30.
