Patience, maturity keys for Marble Falls girls basketball
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Kenadie Cotton (0) hit two big 3-pointers on passes that set up her for wide-open looks during the Battle on the Bay tournament Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Photo by Jennifer Fierro/TexasChalkTalk.com
The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team showed plenty of positives at the Battle on the Bay tournament in Corpus Christi Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
The Lady Mustangs lost to Poth 52-40 Dec. 2, San Antonio Davenport 41-18 and Fort Bend Elkins 39-21 both on Dec. 1, and College Station 32-22 Nov. 30.
Head coach John Berkman noted his team kept two opponents in the 30s, another in the 40s and only one scored 52 points. That shows the Lady Mustangs are playing the defense coaches want.
“Defensively, we have it going in the right direction,” he said. “It’s one of those things we harp on. We can keep ourselves in games.”
He pointed out the Lady Mustangs are getting better on the offensive end. Case in point was the 40 points against Poth led by senior center Lexie Edwards, who dropped in 15 points.
“She was really patient and let the game come to her,” the coach said. “The others were patient.”
He commended junior guard Kenadie Cotton for nailing two 3-pointers on kick-out passes from the inside to the outside. Those are typically spot-up shots where the defense is slow to rotate to the outside, giving the shooter time to set her feet and get a wide-open look at the basket.
Coaches also were encouraging sophomore center Leslie Reynosa to shoot more, and she responded well, Berkman said.
“We found good things that were happening for our kids,” he said. “We were able to find some offense. We had quite a few players score.”
The coach noted there’s a fine line between taking good shots that are the result of being patient versus taking shots in order to find some rhythm.
“When I have the basketball, I need to be a threat,” he said. “We’re really working hard on that with this group. They don’t fully trust each other just yet. We have a couple of players who have played at a high level and others who are coming up. Everyone is starting to get at that high level.”
During a possession at the tournament, the Lady Mustangs made 12 passes on one possession that resulted in a wide-open lay-up.
“The rebounding effort in several games was really, really good,” he said. “We found some offense there and some just from seeing the positives on running the offense. It’s more about patience, and the comes with maturity. It takes time.”
The half-court schemes start with the guards, and Berkman, who coaches this position and played it for his father, Larry Berkman, understands the expectations and pressure that comes with it.
“I see improvement in this group,” John Berkman said. “We’re not where we want to be. Every coach wants a lot better every time. Our guards were better (against Poth). That shows us we’re moving in the direction we want to go.”
Marble Falls welcomes Wimberley at Tuesday, Dec. 5, with the sub varsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity following at 6:30 p.m.
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