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Cloudland vs. Oneida


dukevol
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Dukevol, Oneida came out red hot, then hung on for dear life.

 

The Lady Indians scored the game's first eight points, then pulled it on out to 11-2. The Lady 'Landers cut it back to four at 13-9 before Oneida found their stroke again and closed out the first quarter hot to lead 20-11. Oneida scored the first seven points of the second quarter to go up 27-11 and eventually ended the half up 34-15, holding Cloudland to just four points in the quarter. Then the Lady Indians went ice cold in the third quarter, scoring just four points. Cloudland got as close as seven (35-28) and trailed by 10 after the quarter (38-28). The Lady 'Landers would score the first six of the fourth quarter to cut it to four (34-30) but could get no closer. With the score 40-36, Oneida's McKenzie Welch drained a three with 5:16 remaining. It was only Oneida's second field goal of the 2nd half, but it got the Lady Indians back on track and they pulled away down the stretch as the Lady 'Landers ended the game like they started it: ice cold from the field.

 

Statistically, Oneida hit its first five shots from the field and 12 of its first 14 before finishing the first half 12 of 17. Cloudland hit five of its first eight shots but missed 16 of its last 18 to finish the first half seven of 26. For the game, Oneida shot 15 of 30 while Cloudland shot 16 of 52 by my count. Oneida shot 17 of 26 from the free throw line, while Cloudland was 8 of 14. Oneida was called for 15 fouls and Cloudland 21. Cloudland outrebounded Oneida 32 to 28. Oneida turned the ball over just nine times, a season low for the Lady Indians in an area they sometimes struggle with. But by the same token, Oneida's tough defense usually forces more turnovers, and Cloudland only had nine turnovers as well.

 

Cloudland may well have underestimated the Lady Indians a bit. Oneida is a very good basketball team. Unaka found a similarly tough opponent down in Wartburg tonight. Nothing against Region 1, but these teams here have played very tough competition all year long, tougher than most of the teams in districts 1 and 2, and while it might hinder their overall record somewhat, it really prepares the team mentally and even physically for these games.

Edited by WrittenWord
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written word, thanks for the information. you are right about the competition. even the double A and triple A teams were not as strong as they have been in the past. Elizabethton and Unaka had decent teams but other than them the level of play was down from years past. sometimes teams are limited on who they may play and develop some bad habits that might work against less competitive teams. congrats to the lady indians. I know their tradition of winning and making it to the state tournament runs deep. at least a few upper east tennessee teams are making it to the sub state year in and year out and even a few to the state tournament. if you get a chance written word, a little more detail of the game. you seem to have a good understanding of the game itself so what was the big difference in the outcome? I know you talked about the shooting but, were they getting uncontested shots, or did they (either team) take bad shots. how was the defense? did Oneida press Cloudland? did Cloudland press Oneida? had heard Oneida had some speed and that at times gave Cloudland a little trouble. they (Oneida) must have guarded Lunsford and Banner pretty well to only have given up 41 points. Cloudland normally scores a few more points. would like to hear your personal take of the game. again, thanks for the information.

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Cloudland's Ladies certainly did NOT take Oneida lightly. Coach Chambers of Unaka and Coach Birchfield of Cloudland watched both teams play last Wednesday, and both knew that they had their work cut out for them.

 

Cloudland, once behind, forced some terrible shots in the second quarter. They played as though they expected Oneida to continue to score at that first half pace; they played almost in panic.

 

Had the Lady Highlanders been a little more composed and taken some smarter shots in the second quarter, the game could have ended better for them. The guards were throwing shots up in desperation.

 

Oneida was running the floor and getting back very well. Their defense swarmed the Lady Highlanders early, and seemed to unsettle them. Eighteen points are difficult to overcome.

 

As to Oneida's four guards, they did a teriffic job of getting open shots early on, and that created the cushion that would ultimately hold Cloudland at bay.

 

As to the guards handling post players; well now it can be said, Cloudland has no post players. They have a couple players around five-nine, but there was never a threat underneath. Blevins and McGuire play Tall, but they just aren't really Tall.

Edited by krichunaka
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And that is what will hurt Cloudland next year as well. There are no girls over five nine coming in next year or for a long time for that matter. Next year there will be only one girl over five seven in the starting line up. The upper classman guards have no speed, but there are three freshman coming up who are very quick. Much like Hanson, Johnson, and Webb. You can play without height if you can compensate with quickness. Cloudland will not have that till the younger girls are ready for varsity. Good job on a very good season.

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