Both teams had a difficult team finding the basket on Feb. 10 when Ontario (8-13, 4-10) beat Highland (7-13, 5-9) by a score of 36-30.
“Tough loss for sure,” said Bradley. “We did a lot of really, really good things but just couldn't get the ball in the basket. We went through a stretch late in the first quarter through the second that was really hard for us to score, and that was the difference in the game. We only had 11 turnovers and attempted 49 shots, just have to find a way to score it a little better.”
Highland jumped out to an 8-4 lead to start the game, led by Makaylee Merckling’s two points and a steal. Kate Clements, Reagan Maibach and Bryleigh Young all had baskets for the Lady Scots, as well. It was all Ontario in the second quarter, and the Lady Scots found themselves down 16-10 at the half.
In the third quarter both teams scored 14 points, with Young and Merckling both hitting threes. Ontario finished out with a 6-4 fourth quarter to secure the win.
Young had nine points and Merckling scored eight points to lead the scoring. Young also grabbed five boards and came away with a pair of steals. Merckling had two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Addison Mullins scored four points, and also had five boards, two assists and a steal. Maibach had four points, four boards, an assist and a pair of steals. Clements had two points and a steal. The Lady Scots had 12 steals in the game as a team.
Highland struggled by shooting 20% from the floor and 10% from three, while hitting 47% of their free throws. Ontario shot 35% and 15% from deep, and went for 50% from the foul line. The Lady Scots had a 12-2 steals advantage, but Ontario led 37-25 in boards, 11-9 in assists and 2-1 in blocks.
Despite the loss, Bradley had nothing but good things to say about his squad.
“We've been battling a lot of illness, so I'm really proud of how hard we're competing and fighting through not feeling great,” Bradley said. “We’re still learning and growing each day, and the girls continue to want to improve.”
