Photo by RR Best
Peyton Hagerman drives between two Shelbyville defenders Friday night. The senior tallied 22 points to help lead his team to a 68-58 win.

December 6, 2014

Endure 11-0 run by Rams in fourth quarter

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Friday night’s season opener at Shelbyville might not have resulted in the 68-58 victory for Okaw Valley had it taken place last year.

“Not to look back, but last year we lost 10 games that we led or tied in the fourth quarter, so it’s encouraging to start off this year with the result being the opposite,” said OV head coach Tony Sparks. “But again, that’s the difference between playing sophomores and juniors and then juniors and seniors.”

After managing to keep a double-digit lead over the Rams for all of the third quarter and halfway through the fourth, OV succumbed to an 11-0 run by Shelbyville on the back of three 3-pointers and all within a minute-and-a-half, prompting a Timberwolf timeout.

“We went to a 2-3 zone there just to give them a different look for about three possessions, and it burned us,” said Sparks. “They hit three 3’s in a row, but we responded. And that’s what I expect a senior led team to do. We called a timeout, regrouped, and talked about it. Then got back to what was working before for us– man-to-man. Then we made some plays, got the rebounds, hit some free throws, and broke their press. We got some easy layups. That’s what we expect a senior led team to do.” Read More

December 3, 2014

Despite a third quarter surge, the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team fell to Oakwood at home Monday night.

The Lady Knights, trailing 24-14 after the first half, doubled up Oakwood in the third, outscoring them 13-6 to pull within three.

But both teams sat at a scoring stalemate in the final period with nine points each, allowing Oakwood to hold on for a 39-36 win.

ALAH was led by Mycaela Miller with 14 points, while Hannah Wallen scored nine. Read More

Photo by Darian Hays
ALAH's Kim Davis dribbles downcourt.

November 26, 2014

Go on 22-5 run to complete comeback

by Matt Kracht
NP Sport Reporter

Four quarters were simply not enough time to decide the winner of Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond versus the Casey Westfield Warriors last Thursday night. Trailing 27-15 at the half, the Lady Knights stormed back with a 22-5 run in the fourth quarter and overtime to defend their home court, ultimately prevailing 64-61.
After the game, ALAH head coach Craig Moffett talked about what was said to the team during half time.
“I challenged them. I thought the first half we played soft, did a lot of silly things, getting in foul trouble. We talked fundamentals, and I told them to raise our physicality and intensity mostly.”
The Lady Knights were dominated for most of the first half but looked like a completely different team in the second. Moffett insisted that the defense keyed the turn around.
“We handled the ball better, and we turned up our defense without fouling. That is what got us in trouble in the first quarter was a lot of reaching and fouling. We played as a team. It looked like some individuals in the first half, but we came together as a team in the second half.”
The Lady Knights were led to victory from the play of their guards. Logan Kauffman, Mycaela Miller and Kimberly Davis took control in the second half leading their team back from what looked to be an insurmountable deficit.
In the first half the Lady Knights seemed content to settle for jump shots, and Moffett blamed himself for the lack of scoring in the lane. Read More

Photo by Darian Hays
ALAH’s Elyse Harris (left) forces a jump ball during Monday night’s contest against Shelbyville.

November 26, 2014

High-intensity defense makes game difficult for Shelbyville

By Matt Kracht
NP Sport Reporter

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Lady Knights put forth another strong performance on Monday night defeating the Shelbyville Rams by a 13-point margin pushing their record to 3-1 on the season. Led by the strong play of their guards, once again the Lady Knights jumped out to an early lead and used a 16-2 run to help seal the victory.
After the game head coach Craig Moffet spoke about a team defense that keyed the victory.
“I would love for our defense to be relentless consistently. I am not sure in the first quarter I would say that. But for the majority of the game the defense was solid, and that is something we are going to have to hang our hat on.” Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan’s Emily Neuhauser tries to drive past Teutopolis’ Chelsey Hardiek Monday evening. Neuhauser led the Lady Red with 24 points and 7 rebounds in their 49-43 victory.

November 19, 2014

Neuhauser scores 24 to put Sullivan 1-0 on year

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

No blowout this time.

For both returning players and fans, last year’s season opener at Teutopolis and subsequent 67-24 landslide was forgotten Monday night when the Sullivan girls’ basketball team handed the Wooden Shoes a 49-43 loss to begin the season 1-0.

“For us going to T-town last year and losing by 40 some points was very difficult for these girls,” said head coach Sheri McCain. “So I think getting this win tonight will help them to kind of get that monkey off the back as far as finally beating a T-Town caliber team.”

Sullivan trailed through two quarters and were down 20-19 heading into the half, and it wasn’t until the third quarter did Sullivan pull ahead, thanks in part to 50 percent shooting from the perimeter. Read More