South Kitsap found no comfort against the zone during Wednesday night’s 56-32 loss against Bellarmine Prep in a Class 4A Narrows League contest.
The Wolves overcame an early nine-point deficit to take a 16-13 lead into the second quarter.
That is when the Lions made the switch from a man-to-man scheme to multiple zones that flummoxed South.
“We came out in that first quarter and played terrific,” South coach Mike Hulet said. “Then they kind of switched it up with a zone and then they started pounding it inside. They’re a load inside.”
Hulet was referring to 6-foot-4 Claire Martin, who signed to play volleyball at Washington State University. Martin scored a game-high 15 points.
While the Wolves (8-4 overall, 4-2 league) struggled to contain Martin and 6-foot freshman Shalyse Smith, who added nine points, their problems were not limited to the defensive end. After all, Bellarmine (12-1, 6-0) opened the second quarter with 21 unanswered points. South did not score until senior wing Brianna Shafer made a pair of free throws with 45 seconds remaining in the period. The Wolves trailed 34-18 at that point and never threatened again.
“They’re No. 4 in the state for a reason,” Hulet said. “You’ve got to give them all of the credit. They’ve got all of the tools to make a nice run into the [state] tournament.”
But the Wolves also had their issues.
Junior point guard Libby Borgonia and senior wing Kaylee Yergeau, who scored a team-high 15 points, both picked up their third fouls during the seconds quarter, which limited their playing time in the first half, and forced Hulet to mix-and-match his lineup. The Lions responded by switching between 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones.
“We got kind of caught in that,” Hulet said. “We didn’t recognize that soon enough and then we didn’t adjust. It seemed like we held the ball too long. We wouldn’t take the opportunities that were there.”
South also committed 15 first-half turnovers.
“We played a little frantic and played a little hot potato,” Hulet said. “We were kind of chucking the ball all over the yard. Those are correctable things.”
Even with the setback, the Wolves finished the first half of their league schedule tied for second place with Olympia (9-4, 4-2).
“We’re in good shape,” Hulet said. “Now we lace them up and go through again.”
South, which has only lost two consecutive games once this season, next plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday against last-place Stadium (4-8, 0-6).
“You can’t dwell on it,” Hulet said. “To these girls credit, they’ve been very resilient all year. Every time we’ve lost, we’ve talked about it briefly and put it in the rearview mirror and have come out and played solid the next game. This will be no exception.”
Wednesday
Bellarmine Prep 56, at South Kitsap 32
Bellarmine Prep 13 21 14 8 – 56
South Kitsap 16 3 5 8 – 32
Bellarmine Prep-Shalyse Smith 9, Madeline Garcia, Shelby Gavigan 3, McKenzie Alton 13, Jenny Hagle 2, Maddy Graves 4, Daizanique Anderson 2, Maya Willis, Claire Martin 15, Jayana Ervin 8.
South Kitsap-Savannah Foster 2, Libby Borgonia 8, MaryBeth Bray, Mckenna Mallory, Brianna Shafer 4, Darian Ambler, Olivia Hermann, Alona Lund 4, Kaylee Yergeau 13, Kaylee McEdward 1, Amanda Lind.
Friday
At South Kitsap 59, Gig Harbor 46
Gig Harbor 2 20 12 12 – 46
South Kitsap 10 20 19 10 – 59
Gig Harbor-Gilbert, Kim 2, Berholt 5, Waage 10, Willett 13, Emery 7, Shields 2, Larson 10.
South Kitsap-Savannah Foster 3, Libby Borgonia 19, MaryBeth Bray 6, Mckenna Mallory, Brianna Shafer 8, Darian Ambler 2, Alona Lund, Kaylee Yergeau 16, Kaylee McEdward 5.
