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Franklin
Monroe’s Michelle Hickman goes after a loose ball along with
Catey Fischer (40) and
Alysia Hoying (34) of Ansonia in opening round
action of the annual Bill Burkett girls basketball
tournament at
Tri-Village. Franklin Monroe won the opening game, 52-33. CNO Photo by
George Starks.
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FM starts season off
on right foot
By George Starks
Sports Editor
NEW MADISON- The opening game of the 24th Annual Bill Burkett
Tournament saw Franklin Monroe getting by Ansonia 52-33 Friday.
Led by Taylor Robins with 19 points, it was the Lady Jets defense that
set the tone, creating multiple turnovers and capitalizing on the
Ansonia miscues.
“We had Ansonia confused on defense at times,” said Lady Jets coach
Gavin Spitler. “We would show them zone on one trip on defense and man
the next. I think we played decent defense the whole game. I think we
played a better man defense in the second half than we did in the
first. Still, we have to work on it because we gave up way too many
lay-ups and jump shots. On defense, we need to be more aggressive.”
No matter how a team looks in a win, there will always be negative from
coaches.
Spitler is no exception.
“We shot just five of ten from the foul-line tonight,” Spitler said.
“We need to get to the line more than ten times in a game and we have
to shoot better than fifty percent. That’s unacceptable.”
The Jets jumped out to a early 1-2 lead but by the end of the opening
frame, the Tigers had closed to a 10-6 count.
It was the Jet defense that shut the Ansonia offense down in the first
half, holding the Tigers to a mere six points in the second while
opening up a 23-12 advantage at the break.
“We weren’t out of it by any means,” said Ansonia coach Von Ebeling.
“We were only down by nine at half-time but with only 12 girls it was
just a matter of time before we slowed down. Most of my girls played in
the junior-varsity game also.”
By the end of the third quarter, the writing was on the wall as the
Jets were in control, 36-21, even though the Tigers were playing better
ball.
“I think at half-time, the girls got a second wind,” said Ebeling. “The
fatigue factor was really starting to set in on them. I know Franklin
Monroe was up 10-2 and it took us some time to fight back and get into
the game. We got to within four and I know that four points was an
attainable goal. Then the old bear jumped on their backs and I could
tell it when I was subbing as much as possible. With a short bench and
not having to go to the freshmen or J-V players that played a full game
earlier today, it made it tough.”
The Jets, 1-0, will face Tri-Village in the title game while Ansonia
will hook up with Arcanum in the consolation game.
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