by Malcolm Butler
Cat McAdams led a strong showing by the Cedar Creek bench as the Lady Cougars used full court pressure to race past Saline 65-37 in the season opener Tuesday night.
McAdams scored 12 points and guard Mallory Smith added 11 points in a well-balanced offensive attack that was spearheaded by the Lady Cougars defense which scored 32 points off of turnovers.
“We actually played a number of different presses tonight,” said Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall. “We are experimenting with them to see what works. We really haven’t had a chance to see what we can do. I feel like we have a lot of speed and quickness, but we have to get back out of it better. It’s a better team they will exploit that. The girls had fun pressing and that was fun to watch.”
The Cougars wasted little time.
After newcomer Taylor Martinez hit the first basket of the game just 10 seconds into it, Cedar Creek’s next two buckets came off of its full-court press as Caroline James and Mary Grace Hawkins both converted the opportunities into points, forcing a Saline timeout less than two minutes into the game.
Alivia Lee then scored four straight points and James registered her second basket off a turnover as the Lady Cougars lead increased to 12-1, forcing a second Saline timeout with 3:55 to pay in the opening quarter.
“I wanted us to come out with energy and compete and be excited to play the game that they love,” said Hall. “I wanted to see the joy on their face. I felt like they did that. This entire past week we have been emphasizing defense, especially in the half court. I still feel like we need to be better with our half court defense, but I was super pleased with everyone’s effort and energy. They were fun to watch tonight.”
It wasn’t much fun for Saline.
A Martinez three-pointer followed by a Hawkins layup pushed the Creek advantage to 17-1. Senior Zoey Venters got into the action late in the first quarter with a bucket as the Lady Cougars led 22-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Throughout the contest the Creek guards were successful in probing the paint and finding open teammates for easy scoring opportunities.
“We are a team and we are always looking for the best shot each possession,” said Hall. “I think our girls are very unselfish in that matter. We all want the same thing, and we work on it. We try to hunt in the middle of the paint, and make the extra pass. I love that we love to share the ball.”
Hall utilized her bench throughout the course of the night.
Creek led 35-7 at the half and pushed its advantage out to as many as 34 at 41-7 on a pair of Lee free throws with 6:35 to play in the third quarter.
McAdams scored her first bucket in the second quarter and then added 10 points over the final eight minutes of the ball game. Arlyn Boyett came on in the fourth quarter and scored five points, including a three-pointer for the Lady Cougars.
“I think everyone had success tonight on the court,” said Hall. “It’s always good when everyone walks away feeling good. Everyone contributed. It’s a good start to the season.”
The Lady Cougars will host Calvin Thursday night at the Brickhouse.
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Cedar Creek Scoring: Player FG (3FG), FT, Points: Britton Bennett 0-0-0, Arlyn Boyett 2 (1)-0-5, Kennedy Hall, 1-1-3, Mary Grace Hawkins 1-1-3, Caroline James 3-0-6, Alivia Lee 1-4-6, Sophie Mariano 0-4-4, Taylor Martinez 2 (1)-2-7, Cat McAdams 6-0-12, Mallory Smith 4 (1)-2-11, Zoey Venters 4-0-8
