By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
GALENA — Chadwick found the winning balance Friday between being aggressive on defense and being too aggressive on defense.
The top-seeded Lady Cardinals’ relentless full-court pressure and half-court traps triggered their 71-40 triumph against second-seeded Couch in the Class 1 District 2 championship game.
For the Lady Indians (17-9), it was their fourth-lowest offensive output of their season. They averaged 51.9 points a game.
Chadwick steered clear of fouls well enough to put Couch in the bonus for just slightly over a minute all night — the final :30 of the first quarter and the final :40 of the third quarter.
The Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Indians 21-7 at the free-throw line.
“We play tough and can be a little feisty,” forward Ella Herd said. “But I think we play a clean ball game. With the toughness comes a little bit of fouling. Tonight, we were keeping our hands off on defense. Coach (Jim Pendergrass) stresses that to us a lot, hands off and play defense.”
“We can get into foul trouble,” guard Emily Landry said. “But when we play our pressure defense without fouling, it’s a big momentum shift for us.”
Landy said she and her teammates are mindful to adjust to how the officials are calling the game.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“We definitely test the waters first and then go from there,” she said.
With the exception of what he felt was a momentary lapse, Pendegrass was pleased with his team’s defense.
“In the second quarter, we had (our defense) going at a really good pace. Couch didn’t get to the bonus in the second quarter. But we committed some fouls that slowed our momentum down,” Pendegrass said. “When we foul, we slow our momentum down and it kills us.”
Chadwick (24-4) answered each challenge it received from Couch with some of its best basketball on the night. After the teams were tied at 12-all in the first quarter, the Lady Cardinals promptly broke to a 28-13 lead. In the third quarter, Couch closed to within eight of the lead, 36-28. But Chadwick followed with a 26-2 run to pull away for good, 59-30.
The Lady Cardinals’ defense repeatedly forced turnovers that led to points in transition at their end.
“One of our goals was to not let them get into their half-court sets and I felt like we accomplished that,” Pendergrass said. “We made it difficult on them and made them hurry to get into any sort of offense. We got them out of rhythm.”
As the game turned into a rout, the action at times got a little chippy, as the players say, with more bumping and pushing than usual. A double-foul was called at one juncture.
Couch was whistled for 27 fouls, while Chadwick had 17.
“It did get a little rough,” Emily Landry said. “I think we definitely frustrated them. Whatever (teams) like to throw at us, we’ve got to get it back to them harder.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
“I think we responded to the physicality amazingly,” center Callie Oldenburg said. “We kept our composure very well. I loved every minute of it. I’m very proud of my team.”
“We did a good job handling the adversity,” Pendergrass said. “It was a physical game. A lot of times the playoffs are physical.”
Chadwick was led offensively by Emily Landry’s 28 points. She was 11-of-13 at the free throw line. Macy Landry scored 15 points, Oldenburg contributed 11 and Herd had 10.
In the Lady Cardinals’ two District wins, Emily Landry totaled 45 points and Macy Landry hit a combined six 3-pointers.
Chadwick celebrated its sixth straight district championship. The defending state champion Lady Cardinals advance to face Delta (24-4) in regional action at Van Buren at 6 p.m. Monday. It’s the fourth straight season the schools meet in the postseason.
Chadwick 71, Couch 40
COUCH (40) — Combs 2 0-2 4, DuBois 2 0-0 6, Fabrizio 1 1-2 3, Clayton 1 3-4 5, Brooks 2 0-0 5, Smith 4 3-5 11, Evans 2 0-0 6.
CHADWICK (71) — Oldenburg 5 1-4 11, El. Herd 3 4-4 10, M. Landry 5 3-5 15, E. Landy 8 11-13 28, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 1-4 1, Lowery 1 1-3 3, Em. Herd 0 1-2 1.
Couch 13 10 7 10 – 40
Chadwick 14 22 12 23 – 71
3-point goals – DuBois 2, Evans 2, M. Landry 2, E. Landry, Brooks.
