DANVILLE – Alenah Boeshart has been a steady force for the Danville girls basketball team this season.
The junior guard put that on full display in the Blue Devils’ 59-33 win over visiting Mount Vernon in non-league play on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
She has the ability to knock down 3-pointers and get to the lane as a scorer. But she also rebounds, passes and is quick on the trap defensively.
Mount Vernon’s game plan was to try to speed up the Devils. Thriving in chaos is not something Danville coach Matt Proper would normally describe as a strength, but it worked Tuesday night.
“For some reason, I thrive under pressure,” Boeshart said. “Those 3s in the fourth quarter where I was being guarded, I made those. Pressure makes me think less about the game and just play. I think we play better as a team when we don’t think too much.”
Boeshart did it all against Mount Vernon. She led the Devils with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. She scored 12 points in the fourth quarter on three 3-pointers and an and-1 to help Danville pull away.
“She’s one of our shooters or scorers,” Proper said. “That’s the roll we expect. She’s a great shooter outside; we saw that in the fourth quarter. A lot of those were created off the dribble, so that was taking it to the next level, which was good to see. Every night she can have a big night.”
Ella Proper was the key early with 10 of her 15 points in the opening quarter. She capped an 11-0 run with a pair of layups that were both set up by Brooklyn Hess steals at mid-court. Danville, which snapped a four-game losing streak, led 21-6 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 29-12 at the half.
“(Quick starts) are something we’re trying to get back to,” Coach Proper said. “I thought we started off the year like that — high energy, flying around. We got to kinda overthinking things and got out of a rhythm. It’s kind of like track season: you want to peak at the right time.”
The Yellow Jackets slowly chipped away in the third quarter, closing within 12. But Hess took over on the offensive end, driving and scoring on three baskets during an 8-1 rally that proved to be a bridge too far for Mount Vernon.
Hess finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, six steals and a pair of assists for the Devils (8-11).
Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage was disappointed afterward. His team was without one of its top players in McKenna Brokaw because of an ankle injury.
“We can’t worry about not having McKenna,” he said. “I thought we had some nice inside looks, worked hard on the offensive boards; got a few offensive boards, but we couldn’t convert. We didn’t really handle their half-court trap well. We practiced and practiced and practiced against it, but we didn’t handle their trap very well.”
Olivia Reddy was a force on the boards with 14 rebounds for the Jackets, who had 45 rebounds in the game, including 22 on the offensive end. Neveah Williams had seven points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Reddy and Lexi Shaffer added six points apiece.
