Back after Moratorium, Rochester girls basketball shows off halfcourt trap vs. Peru

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Moratorium Week is over. Camp Week is over.

The Rochester girls basketball team returned to the court against Peru for a summer scrimmage at the RHS gym Thursday.

The “40” defense that coach Joel Burrus relies on was turned up to a “50.”

In other words, the emphasis was on a halfcourt trap defense and turning turnovers into points more so than the regular 2-3 halfcourt zone.

Meanwhile, the Peru team they faced was unlike the one that beat the Lady Zs 50-24 last November during their Three Rivers Conference meeting. Addie Robbins and Ky Correll have graduated, and Jacey Boswell, Maddie Gatliff and Alivia Ross were not present.

Rochester, who themselves were playing without senior-to-be guard Brailyn Hunter, won the varsity game 24-8 and the JV game 30-8. Each game consisted of two 16-minute quarters with a running clock.

Burrus wants to be able to turn to the halfcourt trap to help rev up the offense if they are struggling to score in the halfcourt.

“We wanted to create some offense with our defense today,” Burrus said. “And we haven’t played in awhile. So we wanted to get out and get after it. I thought at times it looked good. We’re obviously looking to use that more this year. The big thing for us is can we play that defense without fouling. Because you’re in a scramble. You naturally when you pressure like that, you get out of position. You’re not in our solid ‘40’ inside-the-3-point-line zone. So if we don’t get a trap in those first couple passes, we get out of position, and that’s where we tend to foul.

“We got some good traps at times, but I also thought we needed to be able to create a little more offense than we did. But for the most part, I thought we did OK.”

As for Peru, they played a 1-2-2 zone. Jadyn Field scored 10 of Rochester’s 14 points in the second quarter without Gatliff being a bother.

“You could tell that we hadn’t played in awhile,” Burrus said. “We hadn’t played since June. And that showed. We’ve had a couple workouts, but you’ve also got to remember we’re basically coming off our dead period. We were 10 days off, no contact. You could see that.

“We’re not nearly in the shape that we were in at the end of June too. I thought we got ourselves in pretty good shape there in the month of June. Today you could see some people huffing and puffing. That’s all part of it since we haven’t played.”

Hope Baugh and Lyla Bowers, both sophomores-to-be, filled in for Hunter. Kyleigh Little gave frontcourt help to Jadyn Field and Ali Field.

The absence of Hunter has allowed Burrus to emphasize versatility.

“The big thing I’m pushing for this year is that you know all five spots on the floor, so that there is no excuse,” Burrus said. “I know where everybody has to be. I know where the shooters are at. Oh, Coach has put me in two different positions on this. I know them. I know those positions. I can’t just say, ‘Well, Coach, in practice, you have me in this spot. No, I know all five spots.’”

Burrus called this year “huge” for the development of a sophomore group that includes Baugh, Bowers, Little, Ali Field and returning starting wing Adalyn Gonzalez.

Burrus sees Gonzalez as a weapon against opposing teams that play zone with both her ability to hit the mid-range jump shot and her ability to drop off passes in the post to the Field sisters.

“We’ve got to be able to utilize Gonzo in the high post more this year,” Burrus said. “Last year, when we had her in there, it was more of a survival mode. Now it’s (as) if, Gonzo, if you’re able to catch it in there, I’m making something happen. It’s no longer I’ve got to catch it and get rid of it. I’ve got to make something happen.”

Burrus also called Ali Field “a force to deal with.”

“We’ve just got keep her and Sis out of foul trouble,” Burrus said. “That’s going to be the big thing.”

As for the JV, that group also kept up the pressure in their victory. Morgan Simpson hit a 3-pointer in each quarter, and point guard Ella Jenkins scored in a variety of ways: from the foul line, on a pullup jumper in the lane and on a transition layup after a steal. Hailey Howell showed off a hook in the lane, and fellow newcomer Morgan Fowler scored both in the halfcourt and in transition. Sophomore-to-be Bailey Smith scored twice on putbacks, and Little also scored on a putback. Lillian Merideth also knocked down a 17-footer.

“The jump they took from seventh to eighth grade was tremendous,” Burrus said. “Now let’s see what the jump is from eighth grade to freshman. And you’ve seen the work they’ve put in. They’ve gotten a ton better.

“Jenkins doesn’t know how good she can be. Simpson’s put a ton of work in. She’s going to be a shooter. She might end up being the biggest surprise out of that group maybe. … Fowler’s an athlete. We’re still teaching her how to play basketball, but she’s athletic as all get out.”

Burrus thinks a hard-working freshman group will lead to more competitive practices in the fall.

“I think (at) practices this year, I think that those freshmen are going to tick off our older people, which I love,” Burrus said. “I love that. I want very competitive practices, where those freshmen are putting our seniors and sophomores on the line and having to run some sprints because they just lost a drill. We want these freshmen to push.”