THORNDALE – The Thrall Tigerettes entered Friday night’s match up with long-time rival Thorndale attempting to do something they hadn’t done in almost eight years - defeat the Lady Dogs. Not since Feb. 6, 2015, had the Tigerettes victorious over Thorndale, but that changed Friday with Thrall’s 43-27 win.
“The plan we had in place went better than I had hoped for,” said Thrall Coach Katina Walker. “My plan was to put pressure on the ball and to run down their point guard, but at the same time, lock down their shooters, because your more comfortable shooting on their home court. We had to keep (Abigail) Dickerson from getting hot.”
The Tigerettes (20-10 overall, 5-2 District 27-2A), who fell to the Lady Dogs 45-44 in December, were burned by the outside shot in the first meeting, Thrall was intent on shutting down Thorndale’s outside game. Abigail Dickerson burned the Tigerettes for 17 in December, but Friday night, a swarming Thrall defense held Dickerson and Thorndale’s other scoring threat, Kyndal Robinson, to a combined two points on a pair of free throws.
“I wanted to use my topgun defenders, Neveah Irvin, Kassandra Jackson, and Avery Ochoa interchangeably on Dickerson to try and shut her down,” Coach Walker said. “I think we definitely accomplished that. And Miranda Richter did a phenomenal job putting pressure on their big girl inside.”
Thrall controlled the game from Irvin’s jumper in the opening seconds of the game, to CeCe Walker’s driving layup with five seconds to play in the game.
The Tigerettes led 9-0 before the Lady Dogs (17-9, 6-2) got on the board on a Kassidy Eubanks three-pointer from the left corner with 2:01 to play in the opening quarter. Thrall closed out the quarter with a 5-1 run, including a trey from the top of the arch by Ashlyn Jarosek and the Tigerettes led 16-4 entering the second quarter.
While Thorndale’s shooting was still having trouble against the Thrall defense in the second, the Lady Dogs were able to connect from the charity stripe. Thorndale converted nine of 12 shots from the free-throw line in the second quarter on their way to a 13-point quarter. Thrall countered with a 16-point period led by CeCe Walker’s six points. Ochoa chipped in four and the Tigerettes took a 32-17 lead into the locker room at the half.
Both teams went cold from the field through the second half.
Thrall managed five points in the third period on three-pointer from CeCe Walker and a Richter second chance layup. On the defensive end of the floor, Thrall completely shut down the Lady Dogs, who went zero for 10 from the field in the quarter. Thorndale did get three free throws from their leading scorer, Tristyn Buchanan. She finished the night with 13 points.
Thorndale finally enjoyed a scoring edge in the final period, outscoring the Tigerettes 7-6, but ultimately, the Tigerettes owned the day.
“It just all came together at once,” Coach Walker said. “That was probably one of the most fun games that I’ve ever coached.”
Walker said the combination of the Tigerettes’ press, and shutting down Dickerson and Robinson, was enormously important to the win. “That was major,” she said.
“Dickerson and Robinson score in double digits. I couldn’t ask for anything better than stopping their top scorers and forcing them to have someone else score.”
In addition to the defensive effort, two offensive factors helped in ending the Tigerettes’ 15-game slide to Thorndale.
Thrall, who came into the game averaging 22 turnovers per game, gave up the ball just 12 times against the Lady Dogs. “Limiting our turnovers was a major win for us,” Coach Walker said. “If you turn the ball over, that’s like giving away points.”
The second offensive key was shot selection. Much of the season has seen Thrall put up 60 or more shots per game, but in their last two games against Milano and Thorndale, they have put up less than 40 shots. This has translated into higher quality shots and a better shooting percentage. Friday night, the Tigerettes hit 42 percent from the field, to Thorndale’s 16 percent. “We have focused on making smarter shots, not more shots,” Coach Walker said. That strategy has paid off.
Thrall is now in a virtual tie for second place with Thorndale.
Both teams still have dates with district-leading Hearne (24-8, 8-0) remaining over the next two weeks. Both teams played the Lady Eagles tough in their first matchups, and both were on Hearne’s home floor.
Tigerettes sophomore guard Kassie Jackson running up the court on a fast break.
Photo by Larry Pelchat
Tigerettes head coach Katina Walker watches on as her team executes their game plan.
Photo by Larry Pelchat
