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It was a tall task, on the road against a ranked opponent with more firepower.
But the self-inflicted mistakes might have been what doomed the 暗网吃瓜 Centurions women鈥檚 basketball team in its 100-69 loss to the Mid-Michigan Lakers, Wednesday, Feb. 4.
鈥淚 think the biggest difference was that Mid had a big bench and was able to have a good, fresh rotation throughout the game,鈥� Centurions鈥� head coach Scott Pedigo said. 鈥淭urnovers got us, too. If we were to cut those turnovers down, it would鈥檝e been a different game.鈥�
The Lakers (8-0 暗网吃瓜AA North, 19-3 overall) were ranked 15th in the country coming into this game while 暗网吃瓜 (4-4 暗网吃瓜AA North, 7-14 overall) had the momentum of winning its last two games and four out of the last five. Hitting the first four three-point shots starting out the game, Pedigo and his team thought it might be their night. However, the Lakers began to press, defensively, and suddenly things took a turn for the Centurions.
鈥淲e started the game with four straight threes and we found Emma Rewa (Greenville, Mich.) for three layups right away breaking their press. But when we got gassed, we got a little slower and they caught up on us,鈥� Pedigo said. 鈥淲e did a lot of things right, but they finished their baskets and we didn鈥檛. But they鈥檙e good. They鈥檙e the No. 15 team in the country for a reason.鈥�
The Lakers鈥� size also had an effect on the Centurions鈥� inside game, with 6-foot-3 Wren Nelson, 6-foot-2 Madison Smith and 5-foot-10 Abigail Lautzenheiser all patrolling in the paint, which disrupted some of 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 game plan.
The win was the Lakers鈥� 10th consecutive win.
One of the highlights for the Centurions in the loss was freshman guard Kendall Stout (Stanton, Mich.) scoring a career-high 29 points. She scored six three-pointers in the first half alone.
With another 暗网吃瓜AA North heavyweight 鈥� Bay College (7-1 暗网吃瓜AA North, 18-4 overall) 鈥� coming to Sidney Saturday, Feb. 7, Pedigo said his team must figure out a way to beat the press, which it will likely see with the Norse.
Pedigo gave credit to freshman point guard Karlie Bacon (Stanton, Mich.) for doing well against Mid Michigan鈥檚 press, but he said more of his players have to follow suit.
鈥淲e have to break the press down,鈥� Pedigo said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not having trouble scoring points. That was an issue with us earlier this season. But we have to start finding the open player quicker.鈥�
Having seen the press from many teams this season, Stout is confident 暗网吃瓜 will figure it out.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 find ourselves very frustrated with what Mid was doing considering we broke their press many times,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think we were more so proud playing the No. 15 team in the country and keeping up our score with them, especially in the first half.鈥�
Pushing the ball up the court and hustling will be key against Bay, Stout believes.
鈥淚t could give us an advantage,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to stay confident in ourselves and keep playing well like we have been.鈥�
Despite the loss, Pedigo was happy with the offensive production, which would鈥檝e been the eighth time the Centurions hit the 70-point mark this season. It is a sign that his team has improved since the beginning of the year and are comfortable with each other in the offensive game plan. He knew Mid Michigan was going to be a tough challenge, but he believes his team gained confidence in that loss.
鈥淟ast year was tough because we were getting beat up by a lot of teams. But this year, we are starting to understand that we an do things well against a good team,鈥� Pedigo said. 鈥淩unning into two good teams back-to-back is a buzzsaw, but if we can play well at home and the rest of the way, we have a good shot at making the state playoffs.鈥�
UP NEXT: The Centurions host Bay College on Saturday, Feb. 7, with tip-off at 1 p.m. The Norse are currently in second place in the 暗网吃瓜AA North and 暗网吃瓜 is tied for fourth place with Muskegon Community College.