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Poland continues hot start with victory over Harding
By Greg Gulas
POLAND
Coach Nick Blanch says when his Poland girls basketball team plays its game, he’s confident it can play with anyone.
On Saturday afternoon, Warren Harding got a good look at the Bulldogs’ game.
Kat Partika scored a game-high 15 points, Jackie Grisdale added 13 and the Bulldogs (7-0) rode a 17-3 first-half run for a 62-41 victory over the Raiders.
The win marks the best start for the Bulldogs under Blanch, who is now in his 10th season at the helm.
“They like to fast break, so we wanted to keep up with their tempo,” Partika said. “Also, we had to make sure that we boxed out their big’s. Today’s win shows our ability to play all the way down the line as everyone contributed.”
Triples from Kailyn Brown and Brooke Bobbey staked the Bulldogs to a 7-6 advantage, but buckets by Faith Burch and Diamond Phillips helped the Raiders (4-1) close with a 5-2 run for an 11-9 lead after the first eight minutes of action.
A bucket by Indea Phillips gave the Raiders a 19-18 lead with 3:21 left in the opening half, but a triple and hoop by Grisdale, and two free throws each by Ella Harrell and Marlie McConnell helped Poland close on an 8-3 run for a 27-22 halftime lead.
The deficit was just the second in 18 quarters played this season by Harding while Grisdale nailed eight of her 13 points in the period.
“They’re taller than us, so we had to work hard to make sure their post players couldn’t get the ball easily,” Grisdale said. “Our guards applied pressure all game, but the key was our run between the second and third quarters. They’re a great team, it’s just that we were able to take advantage of our opportunities.”
The Bulldogs’ Sarah Bury has been the team’s leading scorer in their first six contests, only to be held scoreless through the first 16 minutes of action.
Bury’s first bucket of the game 15 seconds into the second half extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 29-22 and when Partika and Brown added back-to-back triples, they capped a 17-3 run to extend the margin to 35-22 at 6:42 of the period.
Bury finished with seven points, all in the third quarter for her lowest offensive showing of the campaign.
“This team plays together and has excellent chemistry right now,” Blanch said. “Everyone cheers each other on, no one cares about their points and there’s no scoreboard watching. Being scoreless in the first half didn’t even faze Sarah because we knew she would get her share. Greats players usually do.
“Our 17-3 run between the second and third quarters was the difference in the game. We calmed down, got hot and hit our open looks. This group is coachable and listens to what they are being taught. I have a great staff that always prepares an excellent game plan.”
A hoop in the lane and bucket from beyond the arc by Diamond Phillips, and a bucket by Burch cut the Poland margin to 35-29, but that was the closest the Raiders could get the rest of the way as Poland closed on a 12-6 run for a 47-35 lead heading to the final eight minutes.
A Grisdale triple, hoop by Partika and two foul shots by Mia Gajdos extended Poland’s lead to 54-35 as it outscored Harding 15-6 in the quarter for their third consecutive home victory.
“We told our team that coming to Poland, it would be a tough place to play,” Raiders coach Frank Caputo said. “With their reputation and discipline, we had to play at our highest level and today they outplayed us.
“The takeaway is that we start three sophomores so we’re still a work in progress. I was proud at how we battled back, we just couldn’t finish.”
Kamarah Bender led the Raiders with 15 points while Indea Phillips hauled down a game-high 11 caroms.
Harding outrebounded the Bulldogs, 24-18 with Brown pulling down seven rebounds for Poland.
Both teams struggled offensively. Poland made just 19 of 65 shots. Harding made 17 of 46.