Win puts team in second place, only one game behind league-leading Brodhead
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
For 32 minutes Tuesday night, the Big Foot girls basketball team went toe to toe with visiting Evansville.
And in the end, the Chiefs had just enough offense to get the job done.
Big Foot led 21-12 after the first quarter and hung on for a 44-41 Rock Valley Conference victory. The win improved the Chiefs to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the RVC, good for a second-place tie with Clinton and just a game behind league-leading Brodhead.
Contributions came from girls up and down the roster, Big Foot coach Rick Schoenbeck said.
“We are a team that works together for the best interest of the team, and each night is different on who produces numbers on the stat sheet,” he said.
“We need to score to win, but our team balance night-in and night-out is very good.”
Schoenbeck was pleased with his team’s quick start.
“It was a great start, as every coach wants,” he said. “We used a new hybrid press we have been working on, and it confused them right from the start, which converted to easy baskets for us.
“In addition, our transition game is fast, and they had to adjust to our speed pushing the ball. We moved the ball extremely well and spaced the court. Our defense is strong, especially half court, and allows us to be in every game.”
The Chiefs headed to halftime up 32-22 before Evansville clawed back into the game in the third quarter with an 11-4 advantage.
Schoenbeck said the Evansville rally was the result of two factors.
“Being a young team, confidence seems to go up and down,” he said. “We missed a lot of easy shots and slowly let them back in it.
“We definitely tightened up, and they went at us as hard as they could being desperate to come back. The momentum shifted. Last year, this game would have been a loss. This year, we are understanding how to finish and win tight games.”
Payton Courier led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Courtney Schoenbeck and Kathryn Colby with eight points and six rebounds. Morgan Courier added six points, five rebounds, six steals and three assists, followed by Olivia Briggs with six points and Carly Snudden with 10 rebounds.
The rebounding numbers, 50 for the game, were impressive, Schoenbeck said.
“Rebounding in the last three games has been poor and was a major emphasis in this game,” he said. “Aggressive teams win the rebounding battle, and rebounding gives you more opportunity to score. … (It’s) all heart and hustle.”
Big Foot is back in action Friday night at Palmyra-Eagle, followed by a home non-conference game against Woodstock (Ill.) at 7:15 p.m. The Chiefs travel to Badger next Monday, Jan. 19.
After the RVC game with Palmyra, both non-conference games will provide formidable challenges, Schoenbeck said.
And that clearly is by design.
“As the leader of the girls program, I want to play a tough non-conference schedule, which will make us better,” he said. “It should be some really good basketball.”
Chiefs roll past Comets
A 21-10 first half was more than enough for Big Foot Saturday night in a 50-28 non-conference win over visiting Delavan-Darien.
“We used this game as a development for our trapping defense,” Schoenbeck said. “We played very solid defense and kept (them) off balance on offense.”
Morgan Courier led the way with 12 points and four steals, followed by Payton Courier with 10 rebounds and three steals and Briggs with four steals.
