GIRLS BASKETBALL Hickory topples Rayen, 52-40

The Hornets used a 19-0 run to pull away.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Five minutes into Saturday's game with Hickory, the Rayen High girls basketball team held a 7-6 lead as it played well on both ends of the floor.
However, facing the one-point deficit, Hickory closed out the first period with a 9-0 run before starting the second quarter with a 10-0 spurt as the Hornets built a 25-7 lead before coasting to a 52-40 victory.
"It took us a couple minutes to settle in," said Hickory coach Jeanette Whitehead.
"We were anticipating Rayen's zone play [on defense] because it was very effective against us last year. Once we got relaxed on the floor, we were able to pick up our game and play much better."
As for the runs, it was just a matter of getting everyone involved.
"In making the runs, I just thought it was the case of a total team effort," she added.
"Once we got things going, we were able to use our bench players in their roles and that gave us confidence to play strong the rest of the way."
Too many mistakes
When Hickory was busy scoring its 19 unanswered points, Seimetz felt it was a case of making mistakes against a good team.
"What did we do on our first possession [of the second half]? We threw a bad pass and you just can't do that," she said.
"That is what we have to learn because offensively we aren't playing well at all.
"We are trying to get some stuff going off our defense, but that takes a rebound and when you don't get a rebound when the other team is missing, you can't start anything," she added. "There is no doubt about it that we are struggling right now."
As for the strong start, Seimetz saw some good things from her players.
"We had the lead when it was 7-6, but unfortunately, that is when Hickory came back and rattled off those nine points," said Seimetz.
"We have had a lot of sickness on the team and I don't if that played a part in what happened," she added, "but the big thing is that someone on the team has to start stepping up."
Keeping it close
Although the Tigers trailed by as many as 18 in the first half and 17 in the third period, they battled back twice to cut their deficit to a dozen.
"The one time we were down by 12, one of their girls hit a 3 and you just can't let up," said Seimetz.
"You have to be relentless on defense and you can't let up. You have to get in their face and play basketball and it has to be for the whole 32 minutes."
Not to let things get away from them, the Hornets, as good teams do, answered the call on both runs by the Tigers before coasting to the victory.
"They [Rayen] are very effective in the transition game," said Whitehead.
"That is the one area we wanted to play close attention to. A couple of times, they were able to score off the transition, but for the most part, our kids did a real good job of slowing them down."
Hickory's Deandrea Evans led all scorers with 16 points, while Rayen was paced by Taniesha Holland with 15 points.