The ADM girls’ basketball team came up with two big wins at home over the weekend starting with a victory over Boone by a score of 51-37 Friday, December 14th. Head coach Brett Watson always stresses defense first and when we spoke with him after the game he stated that defense was definitely the difference in their win compared to the previous few games.
“Giving up four points in the first quarter, nine in the second… we talk about what we call SDQs or Single Digit Quarters,” explained Watson. “To come out this game and have two like that, its exactly what we wanted and that got us the lead and we rolled from there.”
Senior forward Mallory Schultze led the Tigers at half time with 8 points and she finished second in the game with 12 off the bench. That offensive output along with her defense and rebounding was what caused the Raccoon Valley Radio crew to name her the Shottenkirk Chevrolet Player of the Game. During a post-game interview we asked Schultze if she ends up feeling the physical repercussions of a physical game like that and if she enjoys her role as a “gritty” player. “Yes, I get a lot of bruises,” Schultze chuckled. “I love getting right into the mix of it all and coming out with the ball and hopefully getting that shot off and the ‘and one.’ ”
Team-leading scorer Madi Bertman once again led the Tigers with 14 points on the evening and Haley Canney put up 7 points in a rare start for the junior. Mariah McPartland led Boone in scoring with 9 points but due to foul trouble she only played in the first half, Sandra Sandvig had 6 points for the Toreadors and Bailey Hilsabeck added 5.
ADM then followed that up with an even better defensive performance, defeating Norwalk 41-28 on Saturday, December 15th. ADM started slow out of the game and trailed 11-4 after a quarter of play but coach Watson was very pleased with how the defensive intensity picked up from there. ADM put up three more Single Digit Quarters to finish out the game and Bertman again led the team with 9 points, Canney, senior Megan Burditt and junior Kendra Chapman all had 6 points in the game. Watson said after the game, “It was great to see the last two games the team defensive improvement. Also for the second straight game we did a great job of attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. However, we need to do a much better job of stepping up to the line and cashing in. Overall, it was a great team win against a good Norwalk team.”
ADM hosts Dallas Center-Grimes on Tuesday, December 18th, on 107.9, K-107; the Lincoln Savings Bank Pre-Game Show starts at 5:45 PM, tip-off is at 6 o’clock.