HOWARD – In a game where every bucket mattered – it was decided by 2 points and both teams combined for just 14 made shots in the second half – a third quarter dry spell cost East Knox against non-conference foe Berne Union on Thursday night.
The home Bulldogs scored just 3 points in the third quarter after entering the second half tied, 19-19. Berne Union (7-2) forced East Knox (5-4) into tough shots and turnovers while taking advantage at the other end. The Rockets went up by 6 after three quarters and held off East Knox for a 38-36 road win.
“We didn’t really play that well – missed some easy shots, missed some free throws, which is not usual for us,” Berne Union head coach Dwayne Hurst said. “But like I told the kids, some nights you’ve just gotta grind it out and figure out a way to win in the end, and we were able to do that.”
Berne Union led by as many as 7 points in the fourth quarter before East Knox stormed back. Freshman point guard Alexandria Magers went coast-to-coast for an and-one layup with 3:38 to go, flying into the wall as the ball dropped softly through the net.
Then junior wing Meggan Bartok stole the ball and pitched it ahead to Magers, who laid it in off the fast break. The Bulldogs trailed by 3 with over three minutes remaining.
The game’s final moments didn’t lack suspense. The two teams traded buckets and Berne Union’s poor free-throw shooting (8-of-17) kept East Knox alive.
East Knox had several opportunities to retake the lead late but could not capitalize. Down by 1 with 55 seconds remaining, Bulldog forward Taylor Nunamaker dribbled the length of the floor, speeding past Rocket defenders before being called for a charge near the rim.
After Berne Union made one of its next two free throws, East Knox still had a chance to tie or win with nine seconds left. Magers drove the length of the floor and sought contact on a layup attempt, but a foul was not called. With less than a second left, East Knox ran out of time on the sideline inbounds play and could not get a shot off.
It was a disappointing finish for East Knox, which has now lost two straight after starting December 4-0. Head coach Chip Pozderac said her team’s lack of communication during the final minutes, both offensively and defensively, cost them.
“Just young mistakes, little mistakes,” Pozderac said. “And again, they beat us by 23 (last year). But we should’ve beat that team.”
Berne Union limited East Knox’s two leading scorers, Bartok and Nunamaker, to a combined 19 points (they each averaged 15 points per game heading into Thursday night). The Rockets put designated defensive stopper Emily Blevins on Bartok, who forced the junior into contested shots all night long. While Nunamaker seemed to break free in transition every now and then, Rocket forward Sidney Little kept the damage at a minimum.
East Knox scored 50 points per game during its four-game winning streak earlier this month. Hurst said that full-court ball pressure and reliable help defense helped curb that trend Thursday.
“We picked up our defensive pressure a little bit more,” Hurst said. “We put a little bit more ball pressure on their guards and then provided a lot more help defensively where we needed to by switching screens and hedging screens, things like that.”
Berne Union was led in scoring by spark plug forward Bella Kline, who tallied 13 points. Kline was able to connect on three-pointers and knock down foul shots late in the game to help keep the Bulldogs at bay.
Playing just two days after Christmas, Pozderac feared her team would come out sluggish. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that was the case.
The Rockets led 8-2 midway through the first quarter after Kline stole an errant East Knox pass and converted on a layup at the other end. The home Bulldogs struggled early with turnovers against Berne Union’s full-court trapping press.
“We were flat; our offense was flat, our shots were flat. We were just flat,” Pozderac said. “They’re very good.”
Consecutive put-back buckets from senior Sydney Buckingham helped East Knox climb back into it and the Bulldogs trailed by 2 points heading into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs and Rockets traded the lead in the second quarter, although neither team could establish a flow offensively. Bartok nailed a three from the wing and a free-throw line jumper to get in the scoring column, but Blevins ended the half with a transition lay-in that tied the game at 19.
Pozderac said her team will need to work on cleaning up its half-court offense if it wants to succeed moving forward. She attributed the third quarter drought to poor offensive execution, which stemmed from poor communication.
Thursday’s result is a stark difference from a year ago, however. East Knox fell by 23 points to Berne Union last year, and Hurst was quick to acknowledge the year-to-year improvement of the Bulldogs.
“East Knox is a much, much improved team from a year ago. Coach has done a great job with them, just better players,” said Hurst, whose Rockets qualified for the district finals last season.
“They’re getting better and better. They’re going to make some noise, I’m sure, come tournament time if they keep working and working. They’ll surprise somebody.”
A moral victory would not suffice for Pozderac, however. The Bulldogs had several opportunities to take the game late but could not execute.
“This team beat us by a bunch last year. So morally, it’s a good victory, but we need to beat that team, because it ain’t gonna get any easier,” Pozderac said. “We don’t have a lot of cushion in our schedule.”
“I was pretty hard on them because this is two losses in a row that shouldn’t have happened. And we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, so I was hard on them,” Pozderac said of her team. “But tomorrow’s another day, we start over. We’ve got Danville, you’ve gotta get ready for that.”
East Knox will try to surpass last year’s win total on Saturday afternoon at New Lexington. The Bulldogs will return home next Wednesday to face rival Danville. Danville and East Knox are currently tied for fourth place in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
BOX SCORE
Berne Union – Bella Kline, 13 points; Emily Blevins, 12 points; Sidney Little, 7 points; Lauren Nemeth, 4 points; Mya Staten, 2 points.
East Knox – Taylor Nunamaker, 10 points; Meggan Bartok, 9 points; Alexandria Magers, 9 points; Ashley Van Hoose, 4 points; Sydney Buckingham, 4 points.
