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The student news site of Atlantic High School

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AHS JOURNALISM GOLD SPONSOR

High-intensity Trojanns fall to AL in OT

by Anthony Robinson

Abraham Lincoln senior Hannah Christensen’s only three points of the night came at the wrong time for the Trojanns Tuesday in the season opener. After AHS senior Paige Kennon hit one of two free throws to give the Trojanns a 44-42 lead with 30 seconds left in overtime, the Trojann defense left Christensen open on the right wing. The senior sank the trey, giving the Lynx a 45-44 lead to win.

The Trojanns had two chances to win in the final seconds, but never had a great opportunity for a final shot.

“The bottom line is we didn’t make enough shots,” head coach Casey Pelzer said after the game. “There was a lot of positives. We got to the free throw line a lot. We made some free throws (that) basically kept us in the game.”

The girls came out with a sense of urgency the minute they stepped on the court. After trailing early 3-1, the Trojanns went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for the rest of the first half.

The Trojanns seemed to be playing at a higher intensity level in the first game of the 2011 season than at any point during last season.

Kennon said, “I felt like we came out of the gates strong this game. We really kind of put everything together as a team which we never really never did last year. A couple of people last year would be on fire and then other people would just be out on the court but this year we’ve come together as a team.”

Kennon also added that she is hoping to come out “every game like this game.”

The Trojanns led by as many as eight in the first two quarters (15-7).

The Trojanns played a 2-3 zone defense the entire first half. Atlantic was able to rebound effectively and cause numerous Lynx turnovers while in the zone.

After trailing by five at the break, Abraham Lincoln pulled to within one, 23-22 with 1:57 left in the third. The Lynx made a three-point field goal to pull head for the first time since leading 3-1.

The Lynx led 27-23 at the end of the third, outscoring the Trojanns 13-4 in the quarter.

The fourth quarter started slow. Niether team was able to buy a bucket. The score remained 27-23 for the first three minutes of the final quarter of regulation.

Atlantic took the lead after junior Liz Guttenfelder hit two free throws touching nothing but the bottom of the net (29-28).

The game was knotted up at 29 with 4:10 left before junior Mackenzie Holmes drained two three-balls.

“Outside of the two threes Kenzie hit it’s tough to remember making a lot of shots in the second half and even in the overtime,” Pelzer said.

After a free throw by sophomore Delaney Bolton, the Lynx tied the game at 38 with less than a minute and a half remaining.

The Trojanns gained possession of the ball after a great hustle play by Kennon, but the Trojanns turned the ball over after a five-second call.

The Lynx stalled and took a shot with under 15 seconds remaining in the game, but the ball fell harmlessly out of bounds, giving the Trojanns the ball with 9 seconds remaining in the game.

Kennon tried a hook shot as time expired, but it fell short forcing the game to extra time.

In overtime, the Trojanns hit three of six free throw attempts. Junior Shelby Worth added a three-point field goal in the overtime.

 

The Trojanns were led by Holmes with 14 points (three 3-pointers) and senior Sam McConnell with 10. McConnell also added numerous key rebounds to her stat total, giving her an unofficial double-double.

“I think we played well last night but we can get so much better,” Kennon said.

Atlantic travels to Carroll to take on the Tigers Monday, Nov. 28.

 

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