Hollister coach Willy Morgan calls his front line "The Machine."
After Thursday night's 59-41 victory over Reeds Spring, forward Alexa Bekemeier played her way into a new moniker.
Terminator.
Following a scoreless first quarter, the junior forward erupted in the second with 12 of her game-high 17 points. With the Tigers down 12-10, Bekemeier opened the quarter with a layup and closed it with a 3-point baseline buzzer-beater. Hollister's 27-point burst in the quarter helped break the game open and give the Tigers a 37-25 lead at the half.
Forced to miss multiple games this year due to nagging injuries, Bekemeier was certainly up to the task.
"The last couple of games, we haven't really been finishing," Bekemeier said. "I just wanted to go out there and really put it to the end. Coming off my injury, I hadn't been doing so well, but I just wanted to push through it, go up and score and get the win for us tonight."
Morgan, as well, was quick to point out his team's dominant play on the interior.
"Our posts, we call them 'The Machine,'" Morgan said. "They know to flash and be active, and we like to high-low the ball. Alexa did a great job tonight. Whether she was scoring down low or getting assists with the high-low, she was very active tonight."
Bekemeier couldn't have picked a better time, either.
After scoring her 1,000th point a week earlier, Hollister guard Halie Allred struggled to find her rhythm early on. The Tigers seemed to follow suit.
"Halie can score the basketball," Morgan said. "A lot of these conference teams, they've seen her for four years now. They're going to double her up and force her to the sidelines a lot, and we've got girls that know to be active. We just started out sluggish. I think our posts weren't flashing like we work on, and we just realized we weren't doing what we do in practice. It takes their effort and their hustle for it to work."
After establishing a 12-point halftime lead, Hollister stretched it in the third thanks to an 11-2 run. While the Lady Wolves were able to cut a 23-point deficit to 18 in the fourth, they remained unable to match up with Hollister's size down low.
Allred and Skyler Bruck each scored 12 points to join Bekemeier in double figures for Hollister.
For Reeds Spring and coach Scott Spooner, the slow and steady improvement continues. Despite the disappointing loss, the Lady Wolves showed their mettle with four quarters of constant, full-court pressure defense.
"We're small, but we do have a little speed," Spooner said. "We need to use that to our advantage. Just like tonight, any time they got it inside, there's really nothing we can do. We're just too small. Credit to the kids, because it takes a lot of them playing hard all the time, and they've been playing hard."
Kalena Asbill paced with Lady Wolves with 10 points.
Both teams are back in action Monday. Hollister (8-9) travels to Springfield to take on Catholic, while Reeds Spring (1-14) visits Crane.
Hollister – 59, Reeds Spring – 41
Hollister 10 27 11 11 — 59
Reeds Spring 12 13 2 14 — 41
Hollister Scoring: Alexa Bekemeier – 17, Halie Allred – 12, Skyler Bruck – 12, Armonie Stephenson – 8, Raven Ross – 7, KK Thomas – 3
Reeds Spring Scoring: Kalena Asbill – 10, Darian Morris – 8, Rachel Bagg – 6, Abby Rudd – 5, Keri Lynn Johnson – 5, Caitlyn Gault – 4, Jamie Booth – 2, Jenni Essary – 1
JV Score: Reeds Spring – 45, Hollister – 15
