LEOLA – Leola-Frederick opened a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and never looked back Thursday night.
The Titans held Aberdeen Christian to just two points in the first period on the way to a 35-20 Lake Region Conference girls’ basketball victory.
“That was definitely frustrating,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “I felt like the start really kind of took the wind out of our sails, because we got really good offense in the first quarter, really good shots and we just could not find one to go. And that’s basketball sometimes and that’s the frustrating part.”
The Knights scored the first points of the contest, and then watched as the Titans scored 13 unanswered points the rest of the period.
“I felt like we really did do some things really well in that first quarter,” Rohrbach said, “and we just couldn’t get any momentum and any excitement.”
The remainder of the contest was played on near-even terms as the Titans won the second quarter 8-6, the Knights won the third period 5-3, and the hosts finished off the contest by outscoring Christian 11-7 in the final quarter.
“That seems to be the case for a lot of the girls’ basketball teams,” Rohrbach said. “You’re not going to go on a lot of runs. Defense is kind of champion in girls’ basketball.”
Karli Achen scored 11 points and Kaitlyn Mueller had eight for the Titans.
Jolie Fogarty topped the Knights with eight points, and Ari Johnson followed with seven.
Rohrbach said his team is still adjusting to a new coach and the finer points of the game, and will get better as the season goes along.
“They’re still learning the game of basketball. We’re young,” Rohrbach said. “We’re playing two juniors, a sophomore, and two freshmen. Our basketball IQ is growing and it’s going to continue to grow.”
Christian faces Redfield on Saturday afternoon at Aberdeen Roncalli. It will be a rematch of last year’s game in which the Knights led at halftime.
“I’m expecting it to be competitive,” Rohrbach said, “and … hopefully we can make a couple of more shots.”
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-2): Ari Johnson 3 1-4 7, Jolie Fogarty 3 1-3 8, Molleigh Hofer 1 0-0 2, Jacie Fogarty 1 0-0 3. Totals 8-58 2-7 20.
LEOLA-FREDERICK (1-1): Kalyce Achen 1 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Mueller 2 3-5 8, Karli Achen 4 0-0 11, Eden Podoll 0 1-2 1, Arabella Clark 1 1-2 3, Parker Hoffman 2 0-0 4, Abby Elsen 3 0-0 6. Totals 9-13-51 5-11 35.
Aberdeen Christian 2 8 13 20
Leola-Frederick 13 21 24 35
3-point field goals – Jolie Fogarty, Jacie Fogarty; Mueller, Karli Achen 3. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 11. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 43; Leola-Frederick 29 (Kalyce Achen 8). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 23; Leola-Frederick 18. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 3; Leola-Frederick 9 (Kalyce Achen 3, Mueller 3). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 13; Leola-Frederick 16 (Kalyce Achen 4, Clark 4).
