.png)
Without Harness, Lady Cougars commit 26 turnovers
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
FULTON — Caston sophomore point guard Isabel Scales wanted to play against Alli Harness Tuesday.
They are friends, and they used to be AAU teammates during the summer, and Scales
knows how hard the Carroll (Flora) sophomore guard works at her game.
But Harness suffered two broken wrists in a game against Delphi Jan. 7, and she is out for the rest of the regular season and sectionals week.
Harness is second in the state in scoring at 24.8 points per game and also averages 5.9 rebounds and a team-high 5.5 assists per game.
Without her, Scales busted out for a game-high 24 points, Maddi Smith added 18, and Caston forced 26 turnovers in cruising to a 66-34 win over the visiting Lady Cougars Tuesday.
Caston improved to 16-5 and have exceeded last year’s win total. They finished with a 10-0 home record.
“She’s an old teammate from AAU,” Scales said. “It’s kind of sad to see her go out like that and not be able to play. … It’s always a good rival.”
Madison Wagner scored 15 points for Carroll, who finished the regular season 15-7.
But Maryn Worl, Carroll’s post player who had scored in double figures nine previous times this season, was held scoreless.
Caston jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed.
They mixed in a zone press with a man-to-man and a 1-3-1 zone in the halfcourt. Smith can play out on top in the 1-2-2 press.
“I watched a lot of film on them obviously, and a lot of it had to do with Alli Harness not being in there tonight,” Caston coach Josh Douglass said. “They have not really been pressed this year due to the fact of her being able to handle the basketball so well. As I was walking into the building, I was like, ‘You know, we’re going to press them tonight.’ Obviously, it worked. And also, give credit to bringing Maddi out top and making that stuff difficult. They got their hands on balls, and everybody else just does their job.”
Carroll coach Brady Wiles said it was a mixture of mistakes from his team and good Caston defense.
“First off, definitely give Caston credit,” Wiles said. “They came out in their zone press, and weren’t prepared for that. We definitely had a lot of unforced turnovers, but credit them for great defense.”
Scales hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and outscored the entire Carroll team 17-16 in the first half. Her third 3 came from just off the left corner with five seconds left and gave Caston a 32-16 lead.
“The ball’s going through the hole for her right now, but it’s helped because there shouldn’t be any pressure on anybody on the team,” Douglass said. “We have a lot of girls that can put the ball in the hoop. Everybody’s feeling really very comfortable now. … I think that’s big. Addison (Zimpleman) being able to handle that ball out top, and when we get production from Bri (Yarber) on the defensive end and then coming and making nice passes for layups to the kids and just taking care of the basketball. With contributions from everybody, she finds herself wide open.”
That would lead Carroll to trying a box-in-one defense on Scales.
Carroll scored the first six points of the second half, but Smith’s putback led to a 3-point play that got the lead back to 35-22 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.
Bailey Harness’ layup on an inbounds play extended the lead to 15. Harness was fouled and missed the free throw to make it a three-point play, but Smith stole a pass in the backcourt and dropped in a layup.
When Brianna Yarber sunk a 3-pointer, the lead was up to 42-22.
Caston also closed the game on a 14-2 run. The 32-point final margin was their largest lead.
Scales’ 24 points equaled a season-high. She also scored 24 against LaVille on Jan. 8.
The three seniors – Smith, Yarber and Abby Williamson – combined for 30 points.
“It meant a lot,” Scales said of winning for the seniors. “We were 9-0 at home, and it meant a lot to protect our home court, so we just came out and gave everything we got.”
Caston 66, Carroll (Flora) 34
CARROLL (34) (15-7)
Madison Wagner 6 3-6 15, Laney Johnson 3 0-0 7, Sarah Jones 2 1-3 6, Jamilah Tillman 1 0-1 2, Maryn Worl 0 0-2 0, Daizee Myers 1 0-2 2, Allison O’Brien 1 0-0 2, Teagan Coveris 0 0-0 0, Mallory O’Brien 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 14 4-14 34
CASTON (66) (16-5)
Isabel Scales 8 5-5 24, Addison Zimpleman 2 1-2 6, Bailey Harness 3 0-1 6, Abby Williamson 0 5-6 5, Maddi Smith 8 2-4 18, Alexa Finke 0 0-0 0, Macee Hinderlider 0 0-0 0, Emma Kay 0 0-0 0, Brianna Yarber 2 2-2 7, Kinzie Mollenkopf 0 0-0 0, Annie Harsh 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 23 15-20 66
Three-point field goals:
Carroll 2 (Johnson, Jones),
Caston 5 (Scales 3, Yarber, Zimpleman)
Total fouls: Carroll 17, Caston 15
Fouled out: Johnson (CARR), 4:47, fourth; Worl (CARR), 2:13, fourth
Turnovers: Carroll 26, Caston 17
Score by quarters
Carroll 4 12 11 7 – 34
Watch Full Game Here:
