Week #18: SWEEP - Badgers Win All Three Against RMA in the Den!

After winning the tip, Annie passed the ball to Maya on the wing. Without a trace of hesitation, Maya set her feet and fired a three pointer - swish - and the Badgers took an early lead. Their defense was suffocating, holding RMA to only three points in the opening quarter. Juli was a defensive pest, pressuring her opponent in the back-court. When that player turned to pass it back to their point guard, she was introduced to Annie - who deflected or stole the ball outright, setting up offense the other way. The Badgers executed beautifully, getting the ball into Aoife at the post, or having Marilyn set high screens, creating open shots. With the game tied at 3 late in the period, and the clock ticking way, Maya sensed the moment. She was deep - several feet behind the line - and nailed another three just as time expired! Tandem led 6-3 after 1. 

 

In the second period, Maya showed off her defensive prowess with a massive block. Ginger secured the rebound, one of her seven rebounds on the day, and later had a key save on the baseline. With the Badgers showing off their range, Juli got in on the action, swishing a three from the right wing. On the next possession, Annie got into the short corner - drilling a floater - and the Badgers led 11-3.

 

RMA rallied, going on a 9-0 run, and eventually took a 12-11 lead at halftime. Early in the third quarter there was a shift in momentum, when RMA's point guard picked up her fourth foul. She was trying to stay in front of Sophie, a near impossible task, and the coach took her out of the game. Annie took advantage. Juli snagged the ball away from her opponent, threw an outlet pass to Annie and she fired a three! Moments later, Maya got a steal off the press, and sent the ball ahead to Aoife, who scored a key layup. The Badgers led 19-18.

 

RMA took the lead back on a three of their own, but the Badger Den crowd started getting loud as Aoife then assisted Annie for another three! Tandem trailed 22-23 before Annie did it AGAIN - her third three in a one minute span - and this one was from WAY downtown. The Badgers led by 2! Meanwhile, Tandem earned the bonus - RMA fouling constantly to attempt to stay in front of Aoife and Annie, and Juli took advantage. She drew a foul, got to the line, and then later converted a key jump shot later in the period. Tandem exploded for 16 in the third - taking a 27-23 lead with them into the final quarter!

 

Maya got fouled early in the fourth period, putting pressure on the opponent. She knocked in a key foul shot, and the Badgers increased their lead! RMA came the other way and drove into the lane where Aoife raised her arms and invited them to her block party! Annie ripped away the rebound and got a screen from Maya who then rolled to the elbow. Maya fired a quick pass to Aoife on the block, giving Tandem a 31-25 lead.  

 

RMA hit a three to cut the lead in half, but then Maya attacked the opposing point guard who picked up her fifth and final foul. Tandem took advantage. Juli drove to the rim and got fouled. Annie, who had eight foul shots in the final quarter, attacked the basket with a passion! Overall, Tandem had TWENTY TWO free throw attempts in the final period! Among those free throws included a technical on the opponent - Emory (only in her second game as manager) noticed an opposing player was not in the book - and RMA was called for a two-shot technical as a result. Well played, Emory!

 

Elisabeth, who earned six trips to the line, hit a big one to make the score 34-30, finally putting away RMA for good. In Tandem's two games against RMA last season, we scored a combined 21 points. Today, led by Annie's 13 and Maya's 11, the Badgers came away with a big time win - 35-30 - against a tough RMA team!  The Badgers improve their record to 1-2, 1-0 in conference play! Congratulations, I am very proud of you!!

 

Coming off a big win against Monticello, Coach George did not celebrate. Instead, he had the team work on their interior passing, and lots of conditioning, doing endless defensive slides, wall sits and sprints! Today, the commitment towards perfection paid off - the Badgers had and 18-6 lead after the first, and a 39-8 lead at halftime, holding their opponent to just two points in the second period (and the third, but who is counting?).

 

King was in attack mode. Earning a career-high 16 points, he went straight to the basket, drawing contact and setting up shop at the line. When the opponent gave him space, he knocked in a three. Defensively, King would trail his defender and tap the ball from behind, earning five steals throughout the game.

 

Mason, finishing with 17, is an impossible cover. He passed the ball beautifully, too, setting up Derion for a cutting layup. Mason also showed off his defensive prowess, contesting three pointers from under the basket, sprinting to the corner to alter shots. 

Derion (15 points) set up Levi for a transition layup, what a great pass, and Dalin did the same for Levie later in the quarter. My favorite assist was Levi's home run pass to Dalin, who ran the court beautifully. Dalin took one big stride and hit a layup, giving him seven points on the night.

 

The Badgers held their opponent under double digits in all four quarters, and to only two points in the second and third. Meanwhile, the team had three double-digit scorers, and every player got on the board.  Tandem JV improved to 3-0! 

 

Strong and skilled, Sean dominated the first period. He got the ball down low, took on an ineffective double team, and scored. He had 16 of our 21 in the first period, more than double what RMA produced. He earned trips to the line, but mostly just muscled through the defense, kept the ball high and scored the basketball. When he had the ball at the top of the key, RMA gave him a lot of space. Too much space as it turned out - Sean drilled a three - and RMA was out of options. Tandem led 21-7 after 1.

 

Tre'Sean made a big impact, immediately getting a rebound among the trees, and sending it to the corner for a big Quis triple! With a huge second quarter, Quis also jumped double the height of any other player for one of the most athletic put backs I've ever seen. The Badgers were rolling when Isaac (13 pts) pulled up for a three all the way from Louisa - and it barely even tickled the net! The Badgers led 34-18 at the half, holding RMA to just 4 second quarter points.

 

In the second half, Mason provided some big minutes defensively. Sin got hot from the outside, but my favorite part of Sin's game was the battle he had going with the opposing point guard. Sin was locked in, giving not an inch of space, and forced a travel against a worthy adversary. Out of the high post, Isaac found Keeman for a back door lay up. Keeman had 5 in the period, providing a massive offensive lift for Tandem.

 

RMA had a big third period, forcing Tandem to continue to fight in the final stanza. Quis was up for it - a big three from the corner extended the lead to 19! Quis had 7 in the period, 13 overall. The crowd was particularly excited about the energy Anthony and Seamus provided late in the game, as the Badgers finished with a 62-48 win, improving their record to 2-3, 1-0 in conference play. We missed Tre on the court today, but his presence kept the team locked in!