The Danville girls’ basketball team completely dominated Lucas on Jan. 25, as their defense was about as good as it gets in a 62-11 victory.
“Our on-ball defense was really good all night against Lucas, which caused them a lot of problems getting open looks at the basket,” said Coach Matt Proper.
Jaylyn Smith started off the scoring for the Blue Devils, battling for an offensive board and putting it back to go up 2-0. Lucas tied the game, but Kylee Hess launched a wide open corner three to go up 5-2. After a foul shot for Lucas, Broegan Staats hit a three to make it an 8-3 Blue Devil lead. Hess then stole the ball near the basket and hit a layup to go up 10-3. From there they went on a 12-2 run capped by a fast break score for Smith coming off a steal that she took coast to coast. Lucas scored four points, but Hess finished out the quarter with a three to make it 25-7 after one quarter.
Addison Mickley had a block at the end of the first quarter, but then showed off her pick pocket skills with a steal that she took all the way to the basket to make it a 27-7 lead. This started a 23-0 run that was highlighted by a pair of deep threes for Ella Proper. Hess also poked a ball loose for a steal and took it to the basket, making it 48-7. They outscored Lucas 23-1 in the quarter, closing out the half with a commanding 48-8 lead.
In the third quarter the Blue Devils had a 7-3 advantage and they finished out the game with a skunk in the fourth quarter, outscoring Lucas 7-0 to take the lopsided win.
“On the offensive end, our court awareness was great, as we shared the ball and made good decisions, which led to a lot of open looks,” said Coach Proper.
Hess led all scorers with 17 points, which all came in the first half. Proper had 14 points, with 12 in the first half. Each player hit a pair of threes for the Blue Devils. Smith and Staats each had eight points in the victory.
Danville shot 51% and 42% from three, while making 70% from the free throw line. Lucas was held to 15% and zero threes. Danville led 27-23 in boards, 13-1 in assists, 17-3 in steals and 3-0 in blocks.
Earlier in the week on Jan. 23, Northmor came to town and the Blue Devils won 53-45.
The Blue Devils went up went on a 14-2 run to start the game and led 19-6 in the first quarter. Each team scored 14 points in the second to make it a 33-20 lead at halftime. Northmor had 13-10 and 12-10 advantages in the last two quarters but Danville was able to hold them off and take the win.
Proper led the way with 23 points in the win. She hit three from downtown and went 8-for-9 from the foul line.
Northmor was led by Madison Simpson’s 14 points, and Maizy Brinkamn put up 11 points.
Danville shot only 32% and 25% from three, while Northmor shot 33% and 28% respectively. The Blue Devils led 31-24 in boards, but Northmor led 11-9 in assists, 17-13 in steals and 5-2 in blocks. Free throws were a major factor in the game, as Danville got to the line and made their shots going 21-for-25.
This made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Devils, who relied on excellent defense and key free throw shooting last week. Coach Proper was happy about the team’s play, and hopes that with the playoffs right around the corner, the team will continue to play high caliber basketball.
“Finishing up the regular season, our goal is to continue to fine tune some of our problem areas, maintain our strengths, and hopefully peak as a team come tournament time,” Coach Proper said.
