BULLDOGS WEAR DOWN UNITED
HANOVERTON OH- The matchup on Saturday Poland vs United was looked at by many as a David vs Goliath contest. Poland, serving the role as Goliath survived everything United could give them on their way to a 59-36 victory.
Poland immediately out of the gate wasted no time showing everyone why they are one of the best teams in the area. The Bulldogs full court pressure forced the Eagles into multiple turnover situations which Poland turned into a quick 10-1 run. United settled things down offensively matching baskets with the Bulldogs trailing 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Poland to begin the second quarter appeared to take their foot off the gas and United responded quickly to prove they could play with the high powered Bulldogs. Poland Head Coach Nick Blanch was puzzled by his squad “For some reason we thought the game was already over and it showed in our effort during the second quarter. Give them credit they played hard and fought their way back.”
Behind a motived defense United indeed fought their way back using a 9-2 run to take the lead at 23-18. United guard Madison Kibler found her stride fueling the comeback with her team high 9 points coming in the first half. Poland responded prior to the half following a quick timeout to take the lead 28-26 going into the locker room.
United Coach Josh Sigler was ecstatic on the effort of his squad “Really proud of our effort. We were down 10-1 quickly and battled back, for me that shows maturity and the will to be a better team. We kept fighting.”
Coming out of the locker room for the 3rd quarter Poland’s Connie Cougras was determined to help her squad quickly squash any upset dreams United may have had. The senior guard found the gas pedal in the third quarter on her way to a game high 21 points. Poland turned up the heat on defense as well limiting United to just 6 points while widening their lead 46-32 and never looking back.
Morgan Kluchar contributed a 13 point / 10 rebound double double for Poland in the victory. Addyson Blazer chipped in 8 points & 5 steals in defeat for United.
Coach Blanch following the game was happy with the efforts his kids showed out of the locker room “At halftime I told them look if you think that team is just going to let you win because we are Poland you need to wake up. United is a very well coached team and we needed to execute.”
Coach Josh SIgler on his team’s efforts following the game “This game should give us confidence in that we can play with anyone. there is still a lot to play for and we are very excited about that.”
Both coaches have a ton of respect for each other which was on display after the game. Each coach agreed the score at the end did not reflect how competitive the game actually played out.
Coach Blanch: “Josh is a great coach, I knew when we put United on our schedule he would have his girls ready to make us compete, and that’s exactly what they did. That is a good team and we were challenged today.” Coach Sigler: “Poland is a D2 power in our area and Nick is one of the best. They are deep and have skill at all positions, they are very good, so happy we hung with them.”
Poland (13-1) travels Tuesday to take on Champion. United (10-4) will also be on the road traveling to Wellsvlle on Thursday.
*Contributed By YSN’s Chris Sigler.
