YATES CENTER — A short bench and a fast-paced full-court press defense were too much for the Yates Center girls to overcome in a 49-18 loss to Cherryvale on Tuesday night. Cherryvale 49, Yates Center 18
“When we come out with seven players, it’s hard to do a lot,” coach Chris Wells said. “I always expect a lot out of my girls and these seven really stepped it up, especially in that first half. They far exceeded my expectations and I’m really happy with them.”
The game was close in the first half.
After starting in a 6-0 hole, the Lady Wildcats almost dug themselves out. Jessica Rossillon hit a 3-pointer to end the run, but Cherryvale’s Jordan Carinder answered with a 3-pointer. Cherryvale led 9-3 with 1:40 left.
Yates Center went on a 4-0 run to end the quarter. Makayla Jones hit an open jumper and Rossilon scored under the hoop. Just like that it was 9-7 going into the second quarter.
That’s when the Lady Chargers took over, outscoring the Lady Wildcats 13-5 to take a 22-12 lead. Rossillon completed a traditional 3-pointer by connecting on a shot under the basket and was fouled — she hit the resulting free throw. Shayna Karmann drove down the right baseline for Yates Center’s other points.
The second half really showed how short Yates Center’s bench was by being outscored 27-6. It didn’t help that Cherryvale kept up the fullcourt pressure defense, causing multiple turnovers.
The Lady Wildcats were playing without their top two ball-handlers. Aubrey Smith didn’t play because of injury and Rylie Albert had to sit out due to school-related issues.
“The other girls stepped up and really made an effort to control the game,” Wells said. “When we got down to it, we got tired and couldn’t handle Cherryvale’s press.”
Yates Center hosts Waverly on Jan. 23.
Cherryvale (9-13-21-6—49) (3PT/FG-FT-F-TP): Reed 0-0-3-0 Shepard 5-1-0-11, Allison 0-0-1-0, Bowell 7-3-0-17, Carinder 1/3-0-0-9, Wagner 1-0-0-2, Adkinson 1-2-4-4, Hawkins 3-0-0-6
Yates Center (7-5-4-2—18) (3PT/FG-FT-F-TP): Proper 0-0-2-0, Rossillon 1/1-0-5-5, Karmann 3-0-3-6, K. Jones 0-0-1-0, M. Jones 3-1-4-7
Short bench dooms Lady Wildcats in loss
