YC girls move to 7-1 with win over Harrisberg.
The Yamhill Carlton girls team continued with strong non-league play this week with a home win Harrisburg, 46-28, after going 3-0 in last weekend’s Dayton Holiday Tournament.
The Tigers are currently ranked No. 3 at the 3A level with a 7-1 record.
The team’s depth continues to shine, coach Cliff Toney said.
“I’m having a lot of fun, girls are having a lot of fun,” Toney said. “It’s fun to never know who’s going to be the leading scorer.”
YC had 11 players score in Tuesday’s game against Harrisburg (4-3), led by Madyson Bell with nine points and Madison Gregor with eight. Bell also accounted for seven of the team’s 16 steals and had four deflections.
“Bell was getting hands on everything,” Toney said. “She was just a pest.”
Toney said that each game it seems a different player is filling the role of most terrorizing to opposing defenses, noting Charlie Vertner’s eight-steal and seven-deflection game in a 55-40 win over Dayton on Dec. 13.
“They’re playing great defense, that’s our saving grace,” Toney said. “The girls have bought into what I want done, and they’re enjoying it.”
Against Harrisberg, who YC also beat 32-26 at the Dayton tournament, Toney directed an in-game adjustment on offense that led to quick 8-0 run.
“I called a time out and said we’re going to go one post and four on the perimeter,” Toney said, encouraging the girls to play more freely on offense, instead of swinging the ball around the court looking for a shot.
“They always tell me on offense, ‘what if’ … we can’t go through every what if, at some point you have to play basketball,” Toney said. “They must move and read and get to open spots and penetrate to gaps in the zone. All of a sudden, the offense looked right.”
Speaking on the strong team play, Toney noted how their best shooter and scorer, Emma Rodriguez, accounted for a combined three points in the last two games, but the all-around game is showing up.
After the De la Salle game, in which Roriguez took just one shot, she told her coach, “I’m not used to it, but I like winning.”
Against Harrisburg, Rogriguez contributed three rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.
“She wasn’t forcing shots (just to score), she’s getting rebounds, helping on defense,” Toney said. “She knows there’s going to be a game we’ll have to rely on her, and she’s ready.”
Over the break, the Tigers will play in the North Marion Tournament on Dec. 27-28.
Slow and steady wins the race; the Tigers taught the Pirates just that at the Dayton Holiday Tournament in a 55-40 victory on Friday, Dec. 13 in non-league play.
The contest was tight early on, with Pirate sophomore guard Hadley Hughes going four for five in the first, notching eight points and nabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter. Unfortunately, Hughes also collected two fouls and had to sit the bench.
Meanwhile, Yamhill-Carlton was right there with the Pirates and lead 11-10 in the first. The game was just as tight at halftime with the Pirates holding a 26-25 lead.
The Tigers pressed and were able to trap Dayton at half court and break down their offense.
Yamhill-Carlton continued to raise the temp and held the Pirates scoreless in the fourth quarter, cinching a 55-40 victory.
“We got bothered by their press and we gave the loss to ourselves with silly passes and bad shots,” Dayton head coach Tom Howard said. He added playing a high-quality team such as Y-C is what the Pirates need looking to league play. Dayton went 1-2 at their home tournament defeating Caitlin Gabel 65-15 and falling to Pleasant Hill 55-43.
Emily Bonsant contributed to this story.
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