Coach says defense, rebounding and shooting need improvement for 5-4 team to keep winning
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A holiday tournament last week gave the Big Foot girls basketball team another chance to gauge its improvement.
And while the Chiefs didn’t return from Lake Mills with two wins, they did grab one and were competitive in the other.
Big Foot opened the two-day event with a 59-51 overtime win over Deerfield Dec. 29, followed by a 60-51 loss to Lake Mills the following night.
The split leaves the Chiefs at 5-4 heading into their post-holiday schedule.
“Going 1-1 would be average or OK,” Big Foot coach Rick Schoenbeck said. “We go into games expecting to win. These girls are feeling success for their hard work and put it all on the line. Team defense, rebounding and shooting needs to improve for us to keep winning games.”
Schoenbeck said his team played the tournament without senior Kathryn Colby, which left a void in the lineup.
“(She is) a top-five player on the team, and we missed her play and leadership,” he said. “It definitely showed and the team had to adjust without her.”
Lake Mills dialed long distance often in the nine-point win, Schoenbeck said, as it made nine 3-pointers.
And that statistic right there, along with rebounding, were the difference.
“They beat us in those two areas, and we cannot give up 60 points and expect to win against a very well coached and disciplined team,” he said.
The game was tied at 33-33 heading into halftime, before Lake Mills pulled away in the second half. Big Foot was outscored 27-18 the last two quarters.
Payton Courier led the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Courtney Schoenbeck with 11 points. Morgan Courier added seven points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists, while Olivia Briggs had seven points and seven rebounds.
In the opener, Big Foot fell behind 15 points by halftime and trailed by nine with just 2:08 remaining before it put together a furious rally to force overtime.
“The defense really picked up (from there) and created turnovers,” Schoenbeck said. “It was a great team effort and the girls were determined to win. It was a tale of two halves.
“Deerfield could do no wrong in the first half, and we had things go right in the second half. In overtime, we prevailed with the momentum of the comeback, and in my opinion, the better team finished stronger.”
Big Foot outscored the Demons 10-2 in the overtime period. Schoenbeck said Deerfield switched from a zone defense to man to man, and his team took advantage.
“We spread the floor with a lot of quickness off the dribble and penetrated well,” he said. “As the game in regulation finished, they struggled with our three-quarter court press, and in OT, we pulled away.”
Morgan Courier led the way with 20 points and six rebounds, followed by Payton Courier with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Briggs added 14 points.
The Courier sisters continue to give the Chiefs plenty of production on the floor, Schoenbeck said.
“They both play team ball and have a lot of talent,” he said. “Morgan is definitely a leader and has a huge desire to win. (She has) unbelievable hustle and nonstop effort.
“Payton is much quieter, but overall, our most productive player who has matured to the varsity game well. She has balance inside and outside on the offensive end, which makes her very hard to defend. Night-in, night-out, they produce very well in all areas of play to go with the points and rebounds.”
Big Foot was back in action Thursday night at Edgerton, followed by a non-conference home game Saturday against Delavan-Darien at 6 p.m. The girls game will be followed by the varsity boys contest at 7:30 p.m.
