Wheelers fall to IKM-Manning 75-65, will travel to Treynor Friday
By Drew Herron - AJ Sports Editor / Jan. 8, 2014
AUDUBON – An icy cold offensive stretch in the third quarter loosened the Wheelers’ grip of the upper hand Tuesday night, and by game’s end, IKM-Manning would leave town with a 75-65 victory that was probably closer than the final score indicates.
Wheelers’ senior guard Susie Bylund finished with a season-high 29 points, but that performance was not enough to lift the home team to a victory despite holding an eight-point lead at the half.
IKM-Manning would outscore Audubon 39-23 over the final 16 minutes, and played keep away in the fourth quarter to down the Wheelers.
“We were at a disadvantage with our size, it’s very difficult to defend against (IKMM) in the post,” Audubon coach Kim Subbert says. “It’s not for lack of effort or because our kids aren’t working hard, it’s just difficult for us to guard against taller teams.”
The Wolves worked the ball into their 5-foot-11 post Katelyn Schechinger, and used solid outside shooting from the wings when the Wheelers tried to double down in Schechinger. She finished with 22 points for the Wolves, as did junior Kali Rasmussen. Guard Andy Nulle added 15 as IKMM proved to be a team with options.
“They did a good job of getting the ball to the post, and they’ve got some good outside shooters too,” coach Subbert says. “We tried to provide help in the post, but then that limits what kind of defense we can play on the perimeter.”
IKM-Manning’s up-tempo style also wore on the Wheelers, who struggled at times to get back on defense against the Wolves’ quick transition.
That’s been an issue the Wheelers have struggled with all season. At times against IKMM, the defensive tact was there. At other times, not so much.
“I thought we did a better job of that tonight, not letting them run as much,” coach Subbert says. “They got some steals which led to some easy buckets. But for the most part, I was happy with the effort.”
Bylund led all scorers on the night, and shot 40 percent from the floor. Senior Haillie Anthofer added 12, and Emily Haubrich contributed 11, but the rest of the squad accounted for just 13 combined points, and coach Subbert says he hopes to see more widespread scoring in the future.
“We need other people to step up,” he says. “The first half was excellent, we had a lot of different people score, and that’s what we need to do. In the second half, we went long stretches without any points. We need people other than Susie to step up and score.”
Tuesday’s game was the first back after returning from the Christmas Break. With the loss, Audubon drops to 5-4 on the season, and shifts its focus towards Friday’s road game at No. 13-ranked Treynor (8-2).
“We are playing good basketball and we continue to improve,” coach Subbert says. “We just need to keep working hard and get after it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment