FALCONS’ DEFENSE IS TESTED IN ROAD LOSS
Rochester’s offense a work in progress as team falls to Hartland in non-conference contest
Every good coach will modify their scheme to fit the personnel they have on hand each year, and early on this season, Rochester’s Bill Thurston knew that he was going to have to make a tweak or two to the defense that had helped carry the Falcons to 18 wins and a district title a year ago.
The adjustment had been successful, to date, but Thurston also knew that stat might get a bit dented in Wednesday’s non-conference test, facing a Hartland team that featured six-footers Aubree Meyer and Western Michigan-bound Sarah Rekowski in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of shooters.
Indeed it was, as the Eagles won, 49-28, becoming just the second team in the last 15 games to surpass 35 points scored against the Falcons.
“Our defense has turned around and for them to put up those points against us, it just goes to show how good of a team they are with their (system). I was telling the girls just now about passing, you know, their passes, they’re crisp, they’re looking, they’re not holding the ball, they’re swinging,” Thurston said. “It’s a very well-coached team, and they did a really good job. … As many 3s as we hit, you can’t overcome — I don’t even know how many 3s they hit, but you can’t overcome them hitting that many 3s. They were just hot tonight. You gotta chalk it up to, No. 1, a good team. And No. 2, they shot well.”
The Falcons (7-12) came into the game allowing just 33.3 points per game, shaving three points off the defensive average from a year ago. But the Falcons offense is nearly five points per game off last year’s pace.
“That’s where the beginning of the season we were giving up (points), and as a coach, you know, you go with what you know, and at the beginning of the season, what we knew last year was in the passing lanes pressuring the ball. And with this group, you know, you’ve got to take a step back. And so we got out of the passing lanes, and got into the gaps, and that’s what the turnaround for us defensively has been,” Thurston said. “I know
it didn’t show tonight, but defensively holding teams at 30 points, that’s our goal. And our goal, obviously is to score more than 30, and that’s where we’re kind of struggling with it.”
The Falcons came in with a 31.8 scoring average, with fully half of their games settled by a five-point margin or less, three by three or fewer, going 2-7 in those nailbiters after last year’s team —which averaged 35.56 points per game, topping 50 points four times — had been 6-3 in the same scenarios.
The Falcons got out to a 6-2 lead on the Eagles (136) early on, thanks to a pair
of 3-pointers by Alice Max, but wouldn’t score again in the quarter, as Hartland ran off the final six points of the frame to lead 8-6. That lead would expand to 22-11 at the half, when Ellie Laier hit two of three free throws with 1.3 seconds left in the second quarter, then to 37-22 at the end of three quarters.
The Eagles did hit six 3-pointers on the game, led by three from Meyer, but got scoring contributions from seven different players.
They also completely shut off the interior, holding Rochester without a made 2-point field goal — the Falcons did make eight 3-pointers as a team — in the contest. Max led the Falcons with seven points, while Katelyn Guolla and
Lucy Cook had six each.
“They play a lot of zone, and they mix it up. They ran a 1-3-1. They ran a 2-3 little matchup, they ran a boxand-one on Alice tonight. We’ve been seeing that a little bit more with Alice just because of the type of player she is,” Thurston said. “I know we’re through (most of) the season, but some of these girls are still learning, the younger girls, and we’re building up. Our goal is districts, get to districts and you know, just keep building for that.”
The Falcons have three games left in the regular season, with away games at Clarkston today and at Southfield A&T next Thursday, sandwiched around a Tuesday home game against No. 1-ranked West Bloomfield.