Lady Irish close out Somonauk late
By Mark Johnson
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mjohnson@morrisdailyherald.com
SOMONAUK — Right after Somonauk took its first lead of the game Monday evening, the Seneca Lady Irish closed with a flourish and put away the Lady Bobcats.
The Lady Irish defeated Somonauk 35-28 at its own Lady Bobcat Basketball Breakout Tournament, but only after closing the game on an 8-0 run after Somonauk went ahead 28-27 with 2:11 to play. It was part of a fourth quarter during which Seneca scored 16 points after it had totaled 19 during the first three quarters combined.
Lady Irish senior Taelor Coughlin made a pair of free throws with 1:57 to play that lifted the Lady Irish back ahead to stay. In the process, Coughlin tripled her point total for the night. She did not make a field goal on a night on which the Lady Irish shot a collective 10-for-43 from the field.
"I did have a rough night shooting the ball," said Coughlin. "But I knew that at that point, I had two shots that I needed to put in for my team and for myself, and I was able to make them. ... I think everyone realized, when we saw the score at halftime [15-13 in Seneca's favor], that it was not a night with a lot of scoring. I put that out of my mind. When I shot those free throws, it was just me and the rim, and nothing else."
Following the Coughlin free throws, the Lady Bobcats gave Seneca the ball back after chucking a pass out of bounds. Forward Vanessa Albarron made it a 3-point lead by knocking down a turnaround jumper with 1:31 left to play. Guard Olivia Venecia then intercepted a Somonauk pass, and Alanna Viken turned the steal into two made free throws. Viken added Seneca's last 2 points on a pair of made free throws in the closing seconds.
"I think we all realized how hard we have been working, with all the three-hour practices we have had for the last two weeks, and we wanted to make it all pay off," said Albarron of the last 2 minutes.
That hard work translated into the Lady Irish racing to a 12-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. Viken started the season by scoring on the opening possession, making a short basket that Albarron assisted. Lady Irish post Victoria Imes scored on another Albarron assist in front of two Albarron free throws. Seneca got two free throws from Albarron and a fast-break score from Venecia in just over 3 minutes of game time.
From that point on, the Lady Irish did not make another field goal during the first half. They got one free throw each from Viken and Albarron during the final 4:45 of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Lady Bobcats forced Seneca to miss all 11 of its field goal attempts. Two free throws from Imes and another from Coughlin were the extent of the Lady Irish second-quarter offense.
"That's something everybody has to deal with for the first game of the year," said Seneca coach Barb Beck. "You don't know quite what to expect when you come out and get into a game situation. I was pleased with our effort, but obviously we didn't get a lot of shots to fall."
Viken finally ended a Seneca field goal drought that lasted for nearly 10 minutes of game time when she made a short basket on a fast break with 6:40 to go in the third quarter. Baskets from Karrah Kuykendall and Ashlee Kawall made the score 17-17 and drew the Lady Bobcats even for the first time since it was 2-2. From that point on, the Lady Irish never led by more than 2 points until their closing run.
Seneca held Somonauk 12 made field goals in 37 tries — including a 1-for-8 performance from beyond the 3-point line — and forced 24 turnovers. Venecia and Viken led the Lady Irish with three steals each.
"Yes, I'm proud of our defense," said Coughlin. "We came up very big on the help side. By doing that, we really took away the 3-pointers that they could have shot. Our defense definitely had a very good start. Our offense can still pick it up."
Albarron led Seneca in both points with 13 and in rebounds with 11. Imes also grabbed eight rebounds, helping the Lady Irish own a 36-27 advantage on the boards.
"I am confident in both of our posts," said Beck. "They have a lot of size and play big, and we're expecting a lot from them. We haven't had that kind of size here lately."
Seneca continues the round robin tournament, which lasts through Friday, on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. versus Aurora Central Catholic. The game will be played in the Somonauk Middle School gymnasium.
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