NEW MADISON – The Ansonia Lady Tigers and the Franklin Monroe Lady Jets both came out determined not to go winless for the weekend in the Bill Burkett Tournament.
The teams wrestled for control Saturday until the Lady Jets took off on a 14:10 run over the second and third quarters when they outscored Ansonia 35-6, which led them to a 56-37 consolation game victory.
The first quarter was played with great defensive intensity and desire. In fact, nearly too much so, as turnovers limited the offenses’ effectiveness. Neither team could pull away from the other as Ansonia led 13-11 after one quarter.
The Lady Tigers experimented with some zone defenses at the end of the first period and found a 1-2-2 worked to their advantage. This switch caused FM problems with controlling the basketball and after committing several turnovers Ansonia stretched its lead to 17-11 and had momentum swinging its way. The Lady Jets were forced to call timeout with 6:14 left before intermission.
“We changed up the offense, and that helped tremendously,” Franklin Monroe girls basketball coach Abbey Moore said. “This is a young group and told them that we’re going to have adversity. That it’s how you overcome and handle it and tonight we handled it the right way and got the momentum turned and got rolling.”
Roll, they did. Over nearly the next two quarters the Lady Jets went on a 35-point scoring streak while surrendering only six. They soared from a six-point deficit to a 46-23 lead after three quarters.
Franklin Monroe even unleashed a full-court pressing defense against the Lady Tigers that contributed to the scoring run.
“It can be a strength of ours,” Coach Moore said. “We’re going to be quick, and we felt we showed that tonight. That helped us.
“It was a great team effort,” Coach Moore added. “Corina Conley did a tremendous job on the boards and great job around the rim.”
Coach Bolin of Ansonia concluded, “It’s the second game, and we’re learning. We’re seeing what we’re capable of. FM played a really good game, and Abbey had them prepared well.”
