The Rainier Mountaineers and the Seton Catholic Cougars halftime scoring total mirrored that of the “Thursday Night Football” contest Thursday, Dec. 5, but the Rainier girls used a big third quarter and stellar defense to come out on top, 40-28.
For the second straight game to open the season, the Mountaineers offense endured patches of inconsistency, but they forced 25 turnovers and held the Cougars to single-digit scoring tallies in each quarter. After putting up just 10 first-half points and three in the second quarter, Rainier outscored Seton Catholic 30-14 in the second half.
“I thought we had some chances at the rim, but they were really physical and we weren’t ready for that physicality to start the game,” Rainier head coach Brandon Eygabroad said.
Before the Cougars could put the ball in the basket, they turned it over to the Mountaineers four times, three of which were steals by Rainier. The Mountaineers’ lone field goal in the first quarter came from senior Janess Blackburn on a layup, but their other five points came from the charity stripe. Rainier and Seton Catholic were tied at 7-7 heading into the second quarter, with both teams struggling to handle the opponents’ defensive pressure.
Seton Catholic starting point guard Madison Lee gave the Cougars a jolt to start the second with a pair of finishes at the rim, and the road team built an 11-7 lead. Rainier could only hit one field goal again in the second quarter, with senior Angelica Askey knocking down a triple.
Despite only making two field goals in the first 16 minutes, Rainier remained within striking distance thanks to 11 Cougars turnovers and missed shots in the paint. Both teams spent plenty of time at the free throw line, but neither team shot well in the first half, with Rainier making five of nine attempts while Seton Catholic converted just three of six.
Eygabroad told his team at halftime that he was very pleased with the defensive effort and production, but with only two made field goals on offense, something had to give.
Within the first two minutes of the third quarter, Rainier had doubled its made field goals. After Seton Catholic took a 16-12 lead with 7:24 left in the third, the Mountaineers ripped off 15 unanswered points led by a go-ahead 3-pointer by Brooklynn Swenson and another triple by Askey. Before the Cougars could finally snap the scoring drought, they turned it over seven more times. Swenson made life miserable for Cougars ball-handlers and punished them with a pair of steals and transition layups. Rainier led, 29-20, through three quarters, nearly tripling its first-half point total in the third quarter alone.
Seton Catholic drew within four points three minutes into the fourth, but Rainier slammed the door with a 9-1 spurt to finish the game fueled by six points and one assist from Askey. The dime came on a highlight reel-worthy, behind-the-back pass from Askey to eighth grader Lexi Beckman for a layup.
While the Mountaineers are satisfied with the 40-28 victory, Eygabroad hopes the offense can break through at some point.
“We’re gonna go through stretches like that where it’s not clicking on all cylinders. I always tell them to find other ways to make it happen, whether it’s crashing the offensive glass or getting some live-ball turnovers,” he said. “It’s really them playing more and more together and knowing where each other are going to be and how to set each other up. We have a lot of girls who have played a lot of basketball, but this particular group hasn’t played a lot together.”
Eygabroad also praised junior guard Jazzlyn Shumate, who, despite not scoring a point, brought intensity on the glass and on defense coming off the bench.
“She brought some tenacity, some nose-to-the-ball defense and really sparked us at the start of the second half,” he said. “She got in some foul trouble but managed to still play physical and still play aggressive.”
Eygabroad expressed his pride in how the girls handled adversity for the second straight non-league game, an intangible aspect that hurt the Mountaineers in the postseason last year.
“It was nice to see them respond to adversity like they did on Tuesday. I’m super proud of the girls and how they responded coming out of the half, and I’m excited to continue our journey,” he said.
After shooting 4-22 against Mountain View on Tuesday, Askey led all scorers with 16 points on 5-13 shooting and nabbed five steals. Swenson stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Blackburn, eight, and Beckman, four, were responsible for the remaining 12 points.
The Mountaineers (2-0) will hit the road this weekend to face 2A Clarkston at WF West High School on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 12 p.m followed by a trip to 1A Rochester on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 6:45 p.m.
