HOWARD – East Knox girls basketball coach Chip Pozderac was so emotional after her Bulldogs beat Danville on Jan. 3, 2019, she was moved to tears. She thought it was their first win in the rivalry since 2004.
Pozderac didn’t have to wait as long for a second win. East Knox took the lead for good in the second quarter and extended it in the second half en route to a 65-50 win over the Blue Devils in Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 27.
“We shocked them,” Pozderac said. “We shocked me. I just remember sobbing after the game. We hadn’t beaten them in years.”
“It’s a sweet victory,” senior Alexandria Magers said of the Bulldogs' most recent win over Danville. “You always want to beat your rival. You always want to win, but this one’s big.”
Something happened to the Bulldogs a couple of weeks ago. They remembered they like to run. East Knox was mired in a six-game losing streak, averaging 38.7 points per game over that stretch.
“We play better when we’re running,” Pozderac said. “We are a running team; we’re a bunch of race horses. When we take the foot off the gas, we tend to sputter. So we need (to run) and it starts with our defense.”
So they ran. They ran to the tune of 77 points against Lucas, 80 points against Crestline and now 65 against rival Danville.
Magers did a little bit of everything against the Devils. She had 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead East Knox.
“I feel like when we slow down, we get a little bit out of rhythm,” Magers said. “Once we get back into that rhythm, we just go and we don’t stop.”
Shanda Melick posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals, and Laura Keith added 13 points and four rebounds for East Knox.
Keith hit a pair of 3s and scored eight points as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
Kylee Hess came off the bench, hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points during a 12-0 run that gave Danville a 19-16 lead at the end of the first period.
East Knox responded late in the second quarter when three defensive rebounds turned into quick points on the offensive end during an 8-0 run to put the Bulldogs on top again. They led 34-32 at the half and used a 10-2 run in the third quarter to create distance.
“We just couldn’t let our heads down,” Magers said. “Sometimes when we get down (on the scoreboard), we just put our heads down and let the other team keep going. This time, we just kept our heads up. We went up two points going into halftime, and we just never took our foot off the gas. No brakes, all gas.”
Brooklyn Hess was the steady force for Danville. She had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“She’s a force,” Pozderac said. “The games I’ve watched … she does everything. Her little sister came in (and) played some good, strong minutes as a freshman.”
Alenah Boeshart added 12 points and three rebounds, and Kylee Hess finished with 11 points and three boards for the Devils.
Ella Proper was battling illness but still managed to lead Danville with six rebounds, five steals and four assists despite being held scoreless.
Editor's note: East Knox coach Chip Pozderac, who also runs the school's yearbook, was not aware of a pair of Bulldog wins during the 2011-12 season as the school is missing those yearbooks.
