Hitchcock-Tulare got off to a slow start Monday night, but had more than enough opportunities to get things rolling at the Christian School Gym.

The Patriots racked up 23 offensive rebounds on the way to a 64-32 non-conference girls’ basketball win over Aberdeen Christian.

“A lot of it is just getting in the right position, seeing the angle. We work on it a lot making sure we’re reading it off the rim,” said Hitchcock-Tulare coach Jeremy Nowell. “Our offense is based on getting up a lot of shots, so we know we’re going to have to go after offensive boards, because they don’t always fall, so we have to make sure we’re ready.”

Hitchcock-Tulare also hounded the Knights into 33 turnovers in the contest, many of which turned into transition layups.

Between the rebounds and turnovers the Patriots were able to get an extra 32 shots at the basket.

“That’s about all I circled on the sheet before the game, actually,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach, “so we just circled it double at halftime.”

Because the Patriots took a lot of 3-point shots in the opening half, the ball caromed out away from the basket giving the visitors chances to collect long rebounds.

“They shoot a lot of 3s, so some of those offensive rebounds you will live with a little bit just because that’s kind of the reality of the game,” Rohrbach said. “Hard misses you’re not always going to get all of them, but some of them we had to do a better job of getting them.”

Hitchcock-Tulare pulled away from a 16-15 lead with nine unanswered points to close out the first half, and then made a conscious effort to pound the ball inside in the second half.

“When we went in the locker room we just talked about it,” said senior Gracyn Bixler. “We always need to talk more and stick together as a team, and then it just went from there.”

Bixler said part of the halftime conversation focused on getting interior touches.

“We talked about moving the ball more, like on the inside and getting it in there,” Bixler said.

It was Bixler who set the tone, crashing the boards early and often, collecting multiple offensive rebounds in the opening minutes of the contest.

“She’s a very physical, very aggressive player,” Nowell said, “and she knows how to get to the hoop, and it’s fun to watch.”

Emmerie Arthurs had 15 points and Bixler added 13, and each hauled down a dozen rebounds for the Patriots. Cambree Hoekman contributed 12 points, and Regan Lutter finished with nine.

“I think we’ll learn from this game that we need to move it more inside,” Bixler said, “still shoot some 3’s, but not as many.”

Jolie Fogarty topped Christian with eight points. Arianna Johnson and Molleigh Hofer each finished with six. Hofer led the Knights with seven rebounds.

Hofer said she has been attempting to shoot with more confidence.

“I’ve been trying,” she said. “Everyone’s been telling me to just not worry about it and be more confident.”

Hofer, who also plays tennis in the fall, said there is a different mentality between the sports.

“In tennis I’m not worried about disappointing my teammates, it’s a solo sport kind of,” Hofer said, “but on a team, I don’t really want to let down my teammates. … It’s harder for me to be in a team sport, just because I’m worried about other people. I don’t want to disappoint my teammates.”

Rohrbach noted the play of several members on his squad following the contest.

“Molleigh was great, Jacie (Fogarty) at times breaking some of the traps, I thought Sophia played well, and Ari got some shots to go down low,” Rohrbach said. “There’s always some good takes to have, just you’re never going to win a basketball game giving up that many offensive rebounds and turnovers and transition points.”

Christian, 3-14 on the season, plays at Langford Area tonight, before closing out the regular season with game at Wilmot on Thursday.

HITCHCOCK-TULARE (10-9): Cambree Hoekman 5 0-0 12, Gracyn Bixler 5 2-6 13, Emmerie Arthurs 6 0-0 15, Regan Lutter 4 0-0 9, Jocelyn Wagner 1 0-0 2, Keilee Schone 1 3-4 5, Laina Puffer 1 0-0 2, Rylee Knock 2 2-2 6. Totals 26-74 7-12 64.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (3-14): Arianna Johnson 3 0-4 6, Jolie Fogarty 3 0-0 8, Molleigh Hofer 3 0-2 6, Sophia Eichler 1 2-2 4, Lucy Jones 0-0 1, Jacie Fogarty 1 0-0 2, Erika Moulsoff 2 0-0 4. Totals 14-42 2-8 32.

Hitchcock-Tulare 9 25 48 64

Aberdeen Christian 9 15 24 32

3-point field goals – Hoekman 2, Bixler, Arthurs, Lutter; Jolie Fogarty 2. Total fouls – Hitchcock-Tulare 7; Aberdeen Christian 11. Rebounds – Hitchcock-Tulare 48 (Bixler 12, Arthurs 12); Aberdeen Christian 39 (Hofer 7, Jacie Fogarty 6). Turnovers – Hitchcock-Tulare 9; Aberdeen Christian 33.