Hitting the road again Tuesday, the Union basketball Lady ’Cats turned up the offense in a 65-48 win at Rockwood Summit.
“We still are not playing our best basketball,” Union Head Coach Grant Young said. “But we shouldn’t be, it’s Dec. 5. I keep seeing improvements on each end of the floor each game. We just have to put four quarters together.”
Union (5-2) tied its highest scoring output of the season with the 65 points. Union also scored 65 against Lutheran North in the opening round of the Orchard Farm Tournament Nov. 26.
The Lady ’Cats have reached or surpassed 60 points in four of their seven games so far this season. Union scored 53 points in Monday’s win over Northwest.
In the two losses, Union scored 42 points against St. Charles and 32 against Helias.
Union opens Four Rivers Conference play Monday at home against Pacific. Young knows it’s going to be a difficult contest.
“Pacific is going to be very physical in our conference opener,” Young said. “We have to rebound from our first home game defeat and come out with better toughness. Stopping Kya Hill’s inside touches, Lizzy Almo’s dribble penetration and Abby Spuhl’s hot shooting is what we hope to take away. We want a quick-paced game to wear them down.”
Rockwood Summit
Union opened Tuesday’s game with 20 points in the first quarter compared to six for the Lady Falcons.
“We had a great start against Summit but really struggled in the second quarter giving easy looks,” Young said. “Consistency will improve as the season moves along.”
While Rockwood Summit rallied somewhat in the second quarter, Union took a 35-24 lead to the locker room for the intermission.
After three quarters, Union was ahead, 50-36.
Bethany Coons hit three three-point baskets on the way to netting 17 points to lead the Lady ’Cats. She also recorded six steals and five assists.
Rachael Bassett recorded a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. She also had a steal and an assist. All 16 points came during the first half.
“Rachael had another big game in the post scoring 16 first-half points,” Young said. “She also had a season-high 16 rebounds to go along with the points. Her rebounding ability gets our transition game going. She is able to make a quick outlet to our guards for us to advance down the floor.”
Alyssa Coons ended the game with 15 points while also hitting a trio of three-point baskets. She added three assists.
Whitney Vitt contributed seven points while Abbie Brack scored five, Jill Johnston added three and Anna Houston closed with two points.
Vitt also had seven rebounds. Johnston pulled down three rebounds. Vitt blocked two shots.
“We finally shot the ball well as a team making eight threes,” Young said. “Having multiple three-point shooters with Jill, Abbie, Bethany, Whitney and Alyssa allows us to spread the defense. We are capable of dong that every night if we have confidence.”
Claire Dmuchovsky led Rockwood Summit with 13 points while Lindsey Branson ended with 12.
Caroline Adams and Kristin Brewer scored seven points apiece. Haley Naum closed with five points while Aliyah Brown and Monique Manuel netted two points apiece.
