Cowgirls suffer first loss

When the Cowgirls hosted North Central Kansas League oppenant Marysville Friday, they fell short on the score boards for the first time all season. The Cowgirls were defeated by the Lady Bulldogs, 41-38.

“We talk about winning battles,” Abilene basketball Coach Janelle Geist said, “winning the battle of the boards, the hustle battle, winning the smart battle, and winning the turnover ration battle, and I don’t think we won a lot of battles.”

The Cowgirls played against Marysville pressured zone defense. The girls knew what they were going to see, Geist said, but she did not think they were mentally ready for what they saw.

The Cowgirls had a new addition to the line up for the first time this season. Carly Gassman got released to play the Friday before break and has been practicing all break. Gassman came out and knocked down 13 points for the Cowgirls and was their lead scorer for the night. Gassman underwent brain surgery before the basketball season started.

“Carly has always been capable to score,” Geist said. “And it was good to finally have her back in the rotation.”

Geist said the she thought the main issue of the night was that the Cowgirls were getting no easy shots from their post. The Bulldogs have one player, Tristin Wicks, who is 6-2 and camped herself in the lane the entire game. Geist said it was hard to get the ball to the post and for the post to shoot over her. Therefore, her team had to relay on the outside players more.

“We just could not handle the ball,” Geist said about the offensive end of the court, “and we threw the ball away and did not covert many lay ups.”

Geist said she felt her team was stuggling to make passes against the zone that took away every passing lane specially with their big post player always in the way of the passing lanes.

However, Geist said she will not let the short loss get to her team. They will recover and prepare for their game on Tuesday and then for their next league game, Friday, against Clay Center.

“We are going to prepare our mental readiness of the game,” Geist said. “I don’t think we were mentally ready to play. Clay Center is a very, very good basketball team and we will see a great zone, and we will prepare for that as well.”

The Cowgirls, 6-1, travel to Hays Tuesday to play TMP.

Marysville 41, Abilene 38

NHS 10 7 7 17 — 41

AHS 8 6 7 17 — 38

Marysville—Caffrey 2, Kurt 2, Degenhart 8, Wicks 16, Heiman 9, Pralle 2, Vogelsberg 2.

Abilene—Gassman 13, Geist 6, Guy 4, Sexton 4, Crider 4, Barbieri 3, Taylor 4.

3-Jess D. Hopper, White City