By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School girls basketball team dropped its season opener Nov. 20 in a non-conference game at Oregon, 46-25.
Notable in the loss is the Elks offensive output in the first half. Elkhorn (0-1) scored four points in the first quarter and two points in the second for a total of six in the first half.
Elkhorn trailed 29-6 at halftime.
“I don’t even know if we’ve ever done that,” coach Jim Henriott said of the Elks low point total. “We came out in the second half and outscored them 19-17, but, by that point, most of the damage had been done.”
Erin Schahzinski led the Elks with 15 points. Lauren Johnson and Allyson Reeves each added four. Maranda Ricker led Oregon (1-1) with 14 points. Oregon plays in the Badger South Conference against Monona Grove, Milton, Edgewood, Stoughton, Fort Atkinson and Monroe.
“We got ourselves in a hole, and when you get yourselves in that deep of a hole, you have to spend that much more energy to get out, and we just ran out of gas,” Henriott said.
Henriott noted the Elks lack of size caused them problems, and said Oregon featured two players over six feet tall.
“Size is going to give us some problems,” Henriott said. “We had trouble getting into the lane and doing anything.”
Henriott also said the Elks defensive rotations were lacking, and also said Elkhorn didn’t shoot well.
“We just didn’t get shots to fall early, and they were hitting theirs, and we just kept falling farther and farther behind,” Henriott said.
Henriott also said the Elks might have been affected by a case of Opening Night jitters, and noted five or six girls made their Elkhorn debut against Oregon.
Elkhorn played Milton Tuesday in a non-conference matchup at home. The Elks contended with Megan Blumer, whom Henriott tagged as one of the best players in the state. The 5-foot-11 senior forward is a NCAA Division 1 recruit who, next year, will attend Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., next season, according to an October story in the Madison-based Wisconsin State Journal.
Milton played in the Southern Lakes Conference for many years, and now plays in the Badger South Conference against Monona Grove, Madison Edgewood, Stoughton, Fort Atkinson, Oregon and Monroe.
On Friday Elkhorn opens it Southern Lakes Conference season at home against Waterford.
“Waterford, they’ve got a little bit of experience,” Henriott said. “They’ve got some nice players coming back from last season.”
