Cloverdale comes up small against bigger Bulldogs
CLOVERDALE--Cloverdale's girls struggled handling the basketball and inside against Monrovia's taller front line Friday, falling 51-31 in a West Central Conference game on the Clovers' court.
"We were definitely out-sized by their post players and that hurt us," Cloverdale coach Matthew Langdon said. "They're a very aggressive, super physical team. We didn't come out of the gate very well and it snowballed from there."
Monrovia's starting front line of 5-foot-11 Kristal Smith, 6-foot-2 Katie Casteel and 6-foot-2 Raven Delph plus 6-foot-1 backup Maddie Nay combined to block four shots and altered many others. Cloverdale doesn't have a starter taller than 5-foot-11. The Bulldogs (4-4, 2-0 WCC) had 30 rebounds to the Clovers' 26.
The Clovers also committed 31 turnovers to Monrovia's 15. Combined with the rebounds, it gave Monrovia a ball possession advantage that resulted in 64 field goal attempts to 31 for Cloverdale. The Bulldogs made 22, the Clovers nine.
"We took a step backwards tonight," Langdon said.
Langdon was pleased that the Clovers out-scored the Bulldogs 15-8 in the fourth period.
"We've gotten leadership from our seniors and played better this year about being proud and finished better," Langdon said.
Amillia Nally led the Clovers (4-6, 0-2 WCC) with 10 points. She made one-of-three field goals and was eight-of-eight at the free throw line; Paige Gruener added six points.
Cloverdale's next game is Tuesday at Clay City at 7:30 p.m.
At Cloverdale
Monrovia -- 15 12 16 8 -- 51
Cloverdale -- 6 6 4 15 -- 31
Scoring
Monrovia: Smith 5-12 1-2 11, Casteel 1-4 0-0 2, Delph 2-7 2-6 6, Me. Knieper 2-7 0-0 4, Ma. Knieper 5-9 1-1 11, Nay 2-8 0-0 4, Whitaker 0-2 0-2 0, Patterson 2-5 2-2 6, Longere 1-6 0-0 2, Jones 0-2 1-2 1, Tharp 2-2 0-0 4, Totals 22-64 7-15 51
Cloverdale: Shrum 0-2 0-0 0, Skiles 0-4 0-0 0, Walters 0-1 0-0 0, Gruener 3-8 0-0 6, Nally 1-3 8-8 10, Stevens 1-2 2-5 4, Clark 2-7 0-0 4, Wellington 0-1 0-0 0, Dorsett 0-0 2-4 2, Worthington 1-1 0-0 2, Hamm 1-2 1-2 3, Totals 9-31 13-19 31.
3-point field goals: Mon 0-3 (Ma. Knieper 0-2, Casteel 0-1), Clov 0-9 (Skiles 0-3, Gruener 0-2, Clark 0-2, Shrum 0-1, Nally 0-1). Rebounds: Mon 30 (Smith 6), Clov (Shrum 3, Walters 3, Clark 3).
Turnovers: Mon 15, Clov 31.