Poland cruises on 'off night,' 67-31

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Poland coach Steve Rohan wasn't joking.
"We did not play well in the first half," said Rohan, filling in for head coach Jamie Dunn Wednesday night. "I have to give credit to [Springfield]. They out-played us in the first half."
Maybe. But Poland led Springfield 33-19 at halftime, so Rohan could afford to be generous with his assessments.
The third quarter was more to Rohan's liking, as the Bulldogs clamped down on defense to get three quick steals, to start the period quarter with an 8-0 run.
Poland (1-1) out-scored the Tigers 18-6 in the third quarter and cruised to a 67-31 win at Springfield High School.
"We tell the girls at practice, 'You're not always going to have a good night offensively, but you should never have a bad night on defense,' " Rohan said. "Nobody can control how hard you play every night, except you."
Leads the way: Senior guard Emily Patton led Poland with a game-high 13 points and three steals. Junior Taryn Carlson scored 11 points and had three steals, sophomore Steffi Graf had 11 points and three steals, and junior Kristy Gaudiose added 10 points and four steals.
The Bulldogs had nine different players score, and were able to keep the pressure on Springfield (1-3) for most of the game.
"We played really well as a team, and we always stress team goals," Patton said. "I think we stepped it up in the second half and started pressuring them more."
The pressure forced the Tigers into taking bad shots -- they were 4-for-19 (21 percent) in the second half and were just 11-for-42 (26 percent) for the game.
"Our coaches pretty much told us that if you run and press them, they would turn it over," said Patton. "I think we're in better shape, so it's a lot easier for us."
Poland shot 47 percent from the field (29-for-62) and hit 6-of-10 at the foul line.
Tigers start flat: "We came out pretty flat -- we've been doing that a lot lately," said Springfield coach Sandi Kohler. "We have a lot of young kids playing and we're trying to get better. Right now, the light's a little dim."
Sophomore guard Sara Fannon is out with a stress fracture in her leg, and Kohler said she hopes to have her back by next week. There are just two seniors on the Tigers' roster, forcing Springfield to start a sophomore and a freshman.
Junior Talley Felger led Springfield with 11 points and four steals. Senior Meghan Wood had eight rebounds. Sophomore Carrie Davis had eight points, and freshman Lindsay Johnson had seven points.
"It's tough when you start slowly and you have to play a team like Poland," Kohler said. "We need to have a more aggressive attitude. I think we had it at spots tonight, but not for the whole game."
scalzo@vindy.com