Friday, December 17, 2010

Eagles Sink Vikings

Lake Tahoe Tournament
2010-11 Turlock Christian Varsity @ Lake Tahoe Tournament last Summer

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The Victory Christian Vikings and the TC Lady Eagles met last night in the first round of the Bradshaw Christian Christmas Tournament in Sacramento.  The Eagles flew to a quick lead and looked like they were going to bury the over-matched Vikings, buta  few key turnovers and a missed lay-up here and there combined with a three pointer by Victory's senior guard Brianna Leiford and the game became a back and forth affair.  Spurred on by the outstanding play of their own Molly, #5, the 
Vikings stayed in the game until TC turned up the heat in the fourth quarter.  When TC was forced to set up 
an offense they appeared to be so intent on running it that they did not take advantage of their superior
athletic talent.  When the Eagle's could run the court the Vikings could not keep up with them.  

The game started off with a flurry of points by TC and they leaped to an impressive 18-9 lead at the end of
the 1st quarter.  Over the 2nd and 3rd quarters the Eagles were outscored 21-19 and the Vikings looked like
like the better team.  The TC defense looked over confident and Victory took advantaged.  The fourth quarter
started with a bang and the Eagles quickly took charge.  If the Lady Eagles could string four quarters together
like last night's 1st and 4th they could be scoring over 70 points a night against teams like Victory.


Outstanding Performance Included:


Points:  Kaisa S (16), Molly F & Kara G (10 each) and Marly B & Rebekah M (8 each).
Rebounds: Marly (15) and Kaisa (10).
Blocks: Marly (4).
Steals: Natalie & Molly F (6 each).
Assists: Molly F (6) & Kara (4).


Tonight the Eagles face Wilton Christian in a battle of teams that have both been regular participants in the 
section finals or semi-finals the last few years.  Make the drive to Bradshaw Christian and watch the fire
works.


A question has been asked of the Zulkster about the last blog.  I mentioned the "chicken stuff" that was at the
TC tournament.  Do I know the difference between chicken and pork?  Apparently not:-)


I do now.


DSCF8568
Chicken (Farrar Farms)

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Pork (Random Picture)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Eagle Has Landed: In Second Place

Over the weekend the TC Lady Eagles played in their own varsity basketball tournament at the Calvary Baptist gym. 

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Click the box score to go to more game stats
Click back to return to the blog


They began the tournament facing a familiar foe in the Orestimba (Newman) Lady Warriors, a school which TC plays in every sport, and came out with a victory.  After the first quarter Orestimba led 13-11 and the game had the feel of a very lazy day.  The Eagles didn't seem to have much energy.  Coach Edwin told the girls to relax and have fun and slowly the girls came out of it and started to pull away from the Warriors.  Molly F lead the charge with 19 points.  Marly B had 3 blocks and tied with Rebeka M and Molly F with 7 rebounds.  In the end every Lady Eagle scored as Coach E substituted freely throughout the second half.

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Click the box score to go to more game stats
Click back to return to the blog


On Friday the Eagles faced the Patterson Tigers in a game that looked like it was going to be much closer than it was.  The Tigers pounded Summerville, winning 50-26, the night before with a very aggressive press and dominance inside with their 6'2" center.  When the Tigers pressed Summerville the end results were lay-ups and short range jump shots and a lot of points for the  Tigers.  When they pressed TC the results were lay-ups and short jumbers for TC.  The Eagles lead 33-15 at halftime and held on for a 51-40 victory which could have easily been a much more lopsided score.  A huge amount of turnovers (37, 29 by four of the starters) was the only dark spot on the day's performance.  Outstanding performances included Molly F (15 pts & 4 blocks), Kaisa S (13 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, & 3 steals), and Marly B (12 rebounds).

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Click the box score to go to more game stats
Click back to return to the blog


TC faced the Livingston Wolves in the tournament championship.  The Eagles out scored the Wolves in the first 3 quarters and looked to have a lock on the championship when the wheels came off the machine.  Leading by a score of 48-40 going into the 4th quarter the Lady Eagles were outscored 22-7 giving Livingston the tournament championship.  Again a rash of turnovers, 33 for the game, resulted in the collapse.  The TC girls appeared to think they were behind as they rushed the ball up the court, shot as soon as they could and threw desperation-like passes.  The end result was a loss to a team that was not nearly as talented as the Eagles.  Pre-season is a learning experience and I am sure the girls will learn a lesson from this loss.  On a brighter note Natalie S had a great game scoring 17 points with 3 for 3 from the 3-point line, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  Rebekah M scored 16 points with 8 out of 10 shooting, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists.   Kaisa scored 10 points, had 8 rebounds and 3 assists.  Kara G had 8 rebounds and a very nice three pointer.  Molly Z hit an impressive 25 foot 3 pointer and appeared to have been fouled, but the officials must have been thinking of the excellent food in the break room at that time because they missed the foul.  Molly F made the all-tourney team and the girls ended with a 2nd place finish.

A special thanks to all who helped with the tournament especially Melissa S and that "chicken" stuff:-)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Eagles Crush Cougars

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Something New:  Click the box score to go to the game statistics
Click the back button to return to the blog.

The TC Lady Eagles opened their season at Escalon High School on Monday night.  As the JV Eagletts struggled to find their rhythm against a good Escalon JV squad more than one varsity player expected to see a very good varsity opponent.  TC came out in a full court press that the Cougars had no answer to.  The Cougars were so over matched that the Eagles had 9 offensive rebounds before Escalon even took a shot.  Layups, offensive put-backs, and an overwhelming defense held the Escalon to only 2 points in the first half, and that came on a 15 foot, eyes closed, jump shot that was very well defended by sophomore Kate Farrar.  The second half was more of the same, minus the press, and ended with a 58-12 win for TC.

On the offensive end of the court Natalie Snyder lite up the gym making 18 points on 4 for 5 from 3 point land.  Many of the baskets came with an inside outside game.  The ball would be passed into a post, such as Marly Burton, and she would pass the ball out to Natalie as the defense collapsed.  This strategy resulted in Tara Lafollette (3), Kaisa Spycher (3) and Marly (2) getting a number of assists.  Marly contributed 10 points while Rebeka Muller and Molly Farrar added 8 a piece.  The rebounding leaders included Kara Gabrielson with 7 and Rebeka and Marly pulling down 6 each.

The fans expected to see a more competitive game, since Escalon has an enrollment of about 1000 students, but had to settle for an impressive Eagle debue.  It was good to see the girls play hard through out the contest, even when they went so far ahead that the "mercy rule" took hold in the forth quarter.  The mercy rule is if a team is leading by 40 points anytime during the fourth quarter the clock does not stop for dead balls.

TC's next opponent will be Orestimba at the TC Tournament @ Calvary Baptist on Thursday, December 9.  Come on out and enjoy some really good girls basketball games.  See ya there:-)