No matter what transpires over the course of a basketball season, to play their best basketball come playoff time is the goal of every team.
And while there were certainly ups and downs throughout the Oak Hill Golden Eagles’ 2020-2021 campaign, those tribulations have molded them into a much improved and more confident group, and it showed in their regular season finale — a 46-42 triumph over Blackford, on Thursday evening.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles pushed the tempo all evening long and forced the Bruins to play back on their heels.
“We have picked up the pace, and the girls have really bought into that,” Oak Hill Head Coach Clay Bolser said. “I think they have seen that it’s a little bit more enjoyable and they play a little bit more free. We knew, obviously, with the transition of just changing everything that it was going to take some time. We went through some bumps in the road. [We aren’t] playing perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we are definitely playing a lot more aggressive offensively. We are getting the ball up and down the floor and thinking a lot less.”
Defensively, they kept a long, athletic Blackford team under wraps, allowing just one double-digit scorer and forcing 18 Bruin turnovers. Additionally, they dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Bruins 39-25 and scoring 13 second-chance points.
“I thought we did a good job of the Leas girl, and we put them in some situations where we made it difficult for them to score.” I thought our press was very effective. There were a lot of positives.”
But most importantly, the Golden Eagles showed resilience, keeping their composure after giving up a nine-point lead in the third quarter, and confidently knocking down their free throws in the game’s most crucial moments.
“Six weeks ago, we…would have lost by 10 or 12 points,” Bolser said. “This group is a very resilient group and has some great leadership. We are going to celebrate the victory, and we will work on what we did wrong tomorrow at practice.”
The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout most of the first quarter, with neither team creating much separation, but two three pointers from Nikki Alston helped the Golden Eagles take a 12-7 lead after the first quarter of play.
Neither team scored much in the second quarter due to turnovers, but the Golden Eagles held on to their advantage. Audrey Leak and Joy McDivitt each hit triples in the quarter, and Oak Hill took a 19-16 lead into the halftime break.
Back-to-back three point plays by Kate Hornocker and McDivitt put Oak Hill up 27-18 at the 5:30 mark of the third quarter, but after that, Blackford made their push. Over the final 5:30 of the period, the Bruins outscored the Golden Eagles 12-2, taking a one-point lead into the final frame.
But Oak Hill never wavered, continuing to stay the course. Throughout the final eight minutes, the Golden Eagles were aggressive to the basket and forced Blackford to foul, which led to 16 trips to the charity stripe. Treniti Thurman scored all six of her points at the foul line, Alston knocked down three of four, and Carlee Biddle added a pair, positioning the Golden Eagles to secure their third victory in four games.
“If we look at the stats and the way that we were doing that early in the year, I think we were shooting about 45-50 percent from the line as a team,” Bolser said. “Now, the last several games, we’ve been up at 65, 67, and over 70 tonight. That’s a credit to the girls and how they’ve approached this. They haven’t shied away from the fact that we need to improve on things. I’m really pleased with them.”
Alston led the Golden Eagles with 15 points, while McDivitt finished with eight points. Kate Hornocker finished with seven points and a remarkable 15 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass, while Carlee Biddle added seven points, eight boards, four assists, and two steals.
With a little momentum on their side, Bolser and the Golden Eagles are ready to make a little noise in the tournament.
“Our focus on Tuesday is to get to Friday, and then our focus on Friday will be to get to Saturday,” Bolser said. “This group, their mentality, we are not shying away from anybody, and if they beat us, they are going to have to play pretty darn good. I know everybody counts us out right now. A lot of people have counted us out for the entire season. We are pushing to play the best that we can on Tuesday night and see what happens.”
