Blue Hill Storms Past Bulldogs

Reprinted from Hastings Tribune ERIC STEITZ sports@hastingstribune.com Blue Hill limited Shelton to only seven field goals and Alyssa Willicott scored 15 points to lead the Bobcats to a 36-23 win over Shelton Thursday in the Class C-2, subdistrict 9 championship game at St. Cecilia’s Chapman gymnasium. With the win Blue Hill advances to the district championship next Friday where they will take on Cambridge at Minden’s C.L. Jones Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Thursday’s win was the third in four days and fourth straight for Blue Hill (13-8) which has won 12 of its last 14 games since starting the season 1-6. Shelton (14-8) ran a zone defense for most of the game trying to take away Blue Hill’s Madison Coffey’s outside shooting ability, but that opened up Willicott in the post. “They’re a tough match-up for us because if Coffey gets going it pulls you away from Willicott and then you can’t cover Willicott. It becomes a little bit of a problem,” Shelton head coach Randy Schultz said. “Coffey is one of the best shooters in the state. I have to give our posts credit but Willicott is just a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger.” Shelton jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the first quarter but Willicott scored six straight points to give Blue Hill the lead and the Bobcats didn’t look back from there. Both teams exchanged baskets in the second quarter, but Blue Hill held the lead 16-13 heading into the half. The Bobcats held the Bulldogs to only one field goal in the third quarter with a man-to-man defense, which forced seven turnovers in the third quarter alone. “It was a match-up thing. (Shelton) has a few dribble-penetrators and perimeter-shooters. That’s why we went man,” Blue Hill head coach Tim Streff said. The Bobcats outscored Shelton 20 to 10 in the second half and held the Bulldogs to only three field goals after halftime. “We just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Schultz said. “It makes it kind of hard if you can’t score enough.” Shelton’s Emma Urbanek led the team with nine points, six coming in the first quarter. She injured her ankle in the fourth quarter, which hindered the Bulldog offense. “We lost that go to person that can do what we need them do to,” Schultz said of the second half injury to Urbanek. The Bulldogs closed the Blue Hill lead to seven points with four minutes to play in the final frame but Coffey and Willicott combined for the next five points to seal the Bobcat win. The Bobcats will prepare for the upcoming district title game with rest, according to Streff. “Three games in four days is tough on your body and mentally to get up for every game,” Streff said. “We’re going to rest and then we’ll get back to what we do.”