RIPON — Sometimes all the effort in the world can prove to be too little too late.
After closing a double-digit deficit to get within a point of the Hilmar Yellowjackets, Ripon Christian found itself losing to the clock in a 49-43 defeat in the semifinal round of its own holiday tournament Tuesday.
Ultimately, it was Hilmar’s aggressive defensive stance and its on-court quickness that gave Ripon Christian fits and created a hole that the Knights simply couldn’t crawl out of.
“This is definitely the quickest team that we’ve seen so far this year,” Ripon Christian head coach Ed Mulder said. “For two-and-a-half quarters they pressured us and we didn’t respond very well to it. Eventually we got comfortable and began scoring points, and they let up. We knew it was coming, but unfortunately we didn’t handle it very well.”
Hilmar’s full-court press and aggressive defense was anchored by point guard Alicia Paine, who had five steals in the first half while the Knights were trying to adjust to the swarming Yellowjackets. Paine finished the night with 13 points.
With Hilmar’s (8-3) mounting lead continuing to grow into the third quarter, Ripon Christian (8-2) eventually found ways to move the ball and began chipping away at what was a 17-point lead as the third quarter winded to a close.
They were able to get within a single point of Hilmar before the foul bonus, which favored the Yellowjackets’ lead, kicked in and changed the tempo of the game.
But that’s not to say that Ripon Christian didn’t have any standout players.
Mikaela Alger finished the game with 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Morgan Alger came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
Mikayla Manus finished the game with six points. Ripon Christian faces Hughson for third place tonight at 6.
“I was happy to see how well they pulled together to close that gap, but unfortunately we just couldn’t get over it,” Mulder said. “I told the girls after the game that everything right now points towards league. These games are important, and hopefully they take what they learned tonight and use that when we get into the heart of our league schedule.”
After closing a double-digit deficit to get within a point of the Hilmar Yellowjackets, Ripon Christian found itself losing to the clock in a 49-43 defeat in the semifinal round of its own holiday tournament Tuesday.
Ultimately, it was Hilmar’s aggressive defensive stance and its on-court quickness that gave Ripon Christian fits and created a hole that the Knights simply couldn’t crawl out of.
“This is definitely the quickest team that we’ve seen so far this year,” Ripon Christian head coach Ed Mulder said. “For two-and-a-half quarters they pressured us and we didn’t respond very well to it. Eventually we got comfortable and began scoring points, and they let up. We knew it was coming, but unfortunately we didn’t handle it very well.”
Hilmar’s full-court press and aggressive defense was anchored by point guard Alicia Paine, who had five steals in the first half while the Knights were trying to adjust to the swarming Yellowjackets. Paine finished the night with 13 points.
With Hilmar’s (8-3) mounting lead continuing to grow into the third quarter, Ripon Christian (8-2) eventually found ways to move the ball and began chipping away at what was a 17-point lead as the third quarter winded to a close.
They were able to get within a single point of Hilmar before the foul bonus, which favored the Yellowjackets’ lead, kicked in and changed the tempo of the game.
But that’s not to say that Ripon Christian didn’t have any standout players.
Mikaela Alger finished the game with 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Morgan Alger came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
Mikayla Manus finished the game with six points. Ripon Christian faces Hughson for third place tonight at 6.
“I was happy to see how well they pulled together to close that gap, but unfortunately we just couldn’t get over it,” Mulder said. “I told the girls after the game that everything right now points towards league. These games are important, and hopefully they take what they learned tonight and use that when we get into the heart of our league schedule.”
