VEEDERSBURG – There were too few opportunities for Fountain Central’s girls basketball team in a 34-20 loss to Delphi. Too many turnovers were the reason for the lack of scoring chances for the Mustangs, who fall to 5-6 on the season, while the Oracles move to 5-4.
“It’s all about the turnovers,” FC coach Sammy Karr said. “It means we are not getting enough precious shots.”
The Mustangs offense worked when given the chance, but there weren’t enough. The defense was also solid, when you exclude all the points coming directly off the turnovers.But all facets of the game count on the scoreboard, and 37 turnovers were that many lost shot opportunities. Those miscues turned into 21 Delphi points, and you can do the math on the scoreboard.
“We are a season-long work in progress,” Karr said. “We are going to take our lumps sometimes with four sophomore guards, and Delphi had experienced guards that made their press hard to beat. I have told the girls that every game is a practice game until the first sectional game. We work hard in practice, and I preach improvement on those weaknesses. There is progress – the girls play hard, they never quit, they always give great effort. I know all those turnovers cost us tonight, but in the long run, these nights will help us.”
The Oracles jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first minute-plus and held that lead. They added an 11-0 run to close out the first half, and the second half played out close to even. Brailey Hoagland was the leading scorer for the Mustangs, as the sophomore finished with 11 points. She grabbed 12 rebounds for her double-double.
Overall, FC was 7-of-23 from the field, 2-of-12 from three-point range, and 4-of-7 from the line. The big stat for the home team was a 40-28 advantage in the rebound column. Kacey Kirkpatrick had seven boards, while KayLee Spragg grabbed five. The Mustangs also had nine blocked shots on the night.
“A plus-12 on the boards is really good for us,” Karr said when given the stat. “With fewer turnovers, that becomes an even bigger advantage for us.”
Delphi was led in scoring by Lacey Pickering with nine points, followed by Evann Royal with eight and Jenna Roth with seven. Lots of their points came on the end of a turnover.
Overall, the visitors were 15-of-51 from the field, 1-of-14 from long range and 3-of-6 from the line. Roth led the rebounders with six, and they had 20 turnovers that became only eight points for FC.
“This is a season-long process,” Karr reiterated, “and we look for the little victories, like rebounding tonight. Our defense is only giving up about 30 points, and when we get to the point where we are getting a shot on every possession, things are going to look a lot better. We had a goal of being at .500 after 10 games. and And we were. Now we have to work on the next goals. I’m really excited as a coach because for the next couple weeks, we have more practice days than game days, and we can really work on the things we need to work on. With a team as young as we are, practice is just so important.”
The Oracles are back in action on Dec 1 when they travel to Frankfort.
The Mustangs have a few days, with next action on Dec. 6 and 8 with home games against Seegerand North Vermillion. Those games open WRC play
