By Malcolm Butler
Senior guard Allie Furr scored 32 points in just two and a half quarters of action to lead Cedar Creek to a 71-16 win over Glenbrook in the season opener for the Lady Cougars.
However, it wasn’t Furr’s point production that pleased head coach Gene Vandenlangenberg the most.
“She did exactly what you want from your point guard,” said Vandenlangenberg. “She did a good job of getting her teammates involved and then taking the shots she needed through steals and transition layups and then some shots out of the offense. She hit a three-pointer and made some mid-range shots. I think you saw her confidence offensively grow as the game went on. Allie is going to play defense every night, but offensively as she continues to gain confidence, we are going to be in good shape.”
Scoring isn’t new to Furr. She has been the Lady Cougars No. 2 option the past two years and was an integral part of helping Cedar Creek advance to the school’s first ever state title game in girls basketball last year. However, she did it from the two-guard spot.
Now with the graduation of long-time starter Sarah Adams, Furr is stepping into a different role.
“Allie is gaining confidence,” said Vandenlangenberg. “She is transitioning to point guard; No. 1 because she wanted to play point guard. Her play is dictating that she is getting more and more comfortable. She is not thinking out there. She is just reacting. She is not processing which is a good sign. She is just making basketball plays.”
According to Furr, the biggest change may be more in mindset.
“The biggest challenge has been learning how to become a leader on the court as the point guard,” said Furr, who signed a Division I softball scholarship last week to play at Louisiana Tech. “In years past, I relied on Sarah to lead us and get our offense going and working together, but I have had to learn how to be that person this year. After tonight’s game, I saw everything start to click, and we were playing great as a team.”
Furr scored 13 points in the first quarter, 13 in the second quarter and six more in the third before being pulled with over four minutes remaining and the Lady Cougars comfortably in front. And between her defense and her ability to find her teammates in transition and in the half court offense, Creek got plenty of easy looks against the Apaches.
Leah Sutherland added 12 points and Lizzie McAdams 10 points as Vandenlangenberg emptied his bench over the final quarter and a half and eight different players found the scoring column.
“It was great to get everyone in,” he said. “That was a good first game. We got JV action (in the JV girls game) and then the JV got some varsity action. The varsity starters got two and a half quarters of fun basketball. I was pleased with our team on their focus.”
Vandenlangenberg did say he felt comfortable with his second and third options offensively, but that they were working hard to improve on their interior offense.
“I think Lizzie (Mcadams) is going to be that second option,” he said. “But we have been working hard with Lillian Soto and Ellie Dickerson to get them to work offensively on their positioning down load, getting put backs, and just creating a little more offense. They are going to play defense and rebound, but if they can continue to grow …
“I saw some good moves tonight. They were on balance and they made some shots. If they can make the ones they should make, make their free throws and give us 8 to 10 points and 8 rebounds, that could carry us to another level.”
The Lady Cougars will play Thursday night against Sterlington in the first game of a doubleheader with the varsity boys who open their season that night.
