Hubbard subdues Poland

Sheila Drummond scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to key Hubbard.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HUBBARD -- Hubbard girls basketball coach Jerry Beltempo has been looking for an early season spark for his young team.
"We haven't been playing with any intensity," Beltempo said. "Until tonight."
The Eagles came out in the third quarter Wednesday with fire and turned a 18-17 deficit against Poland into their first win of the season with a 44-39 non-conference victory at home.
Hubbard (1-2) outscored the Bulldogs 16-7 in the third quarter and went on to lead by as many as 10 points before holding on late to secure the win.
Senior Sheila Drummond scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to key Hubbard's strong inside game that Poland had trouble countering most of the contest.
"We played with intensity tonight," Beltempo said. "I think we did a good job of denying [Poland] the ball and of playing [pressure defense] like I want us to play.
"We missed a lot of easy shots in the first half or we would have had a nice lead and would not have been trailing by one point," Beltempo said.
Hubbard trailed by as many as 8 points in the first half as Poland played well early.
Hubbard mounts comeback
The Bulldogs led 16-8 on a basket by Jessica Toth before Hubbard mounted a comeback by going on a 9-2 run to close out the first half down 18-17.
After Poland (1-3) scored the first point of the second half, Hubbard went on a 13-4 run to open up a 30-23 lead.
The Eagles' defense forced numerous Poland turnovers and caused the Bulldogs to rush many shots.
Offensively, Drummond and Tressa Scahill began to find their shots in the third quarter for Hubbard.
Drummond scored 6 points in the third period and added 6 more in the final quarter. Scahill finished with 9 points.
The Eagles opened up their lead to 37-27 early in the fourth quarter on a shot by Abbee DeLuco before the Bulldogs made a run to get back in the game.
Toth, who led the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points, hit a couple of three-point baskets in the period to lead the rally.
Her second 3-pointer in the final minute cut the Hubbard lead to 42-39, but Drummond's driving layup second's later sealed the win.
"We just didn't play well," Poland coach Jamie Dunn said. "We didn't deserve to win the basketball game.
"Hubbard played better. They played harder," Dunn said. "They probably listened more to their coaches and as a result they had the better outcome."
Turnovers, poor shooting
The Bulldogs struggled with turnovers and had a dismal shooting night from the field making just 15 of 48 field goals.
"We're not a particularly strong shooting team," Dunn said. "We have a lot of young girls that have to learn when and when not to shoot.
"We're young and we're going to have some growing pains."
Hubbard shot better (45%) and rebounded well. The Eagles outrebounded Poland, 39-25.
"We improved in a lot of areas tonight over a couple of nights ago," Beltempo said. "We're behind because we are a young team."
"This win will go a long way to help us grow."