MCCORMICK — For most of the season, the McCormick girls basketball team has had the height advantage inside. Despite that fact, Chiefs coach Gena Wideman has been stressing the importance of rebounding and boxing out.
On Tuesday, it clicked for the Chiefs, as they dominated in the paint against Dixie, sweeping the season series with their 40-26 win.
“We have made so much improvement since we started the season,” Wideman said. “They recognized that they have to rebound. It’s difficult when you have tall girls, who are taller than other people around them, so they don’t see the value of boxing out initially.
“When they do box out, they really do box out, and I need to get them to that point. I saw where they have grown so much, but there are things that we still to do finishing this season and going into the postseason.”
For the entirety of the game, McCormick went inside and found success on offense. While there were some empty possessions early, the Chiefs were getting quality shots in the paint. If they missed, a Chief usually found a way to come down with the rebound for a second or third chance opportunity.
This allowed the Chiefs, who were at full strength compared to the earlier season matchup, to jump out to a double-digit lead late in the first quarter. By the time Dixie scored its first basket right before the end of the first quarter, McCormick started to get into a rhythm.
“We had better passing and fewer turnovers than we did the first game,” Wideman said. “(Serenity Searles) did not play the first game, and (Ilyriyah Tate) got injured in that game. I ended up having to make some changes in how I lined them up, which was not a bad thing because there was the opportunity to see what others would do without those two on the floor. We were able to pull off the first game.
“This game, I had everyone back, and we were able to do it with more. It’s just trying to make everyone click because you never know who is going to be on the floor.”
That rhythm carried onto the second quarter, where McCormick outscored Dixie 12-6 to take a 16-point lead into the half.
A key reason for the Chiefs’ success early was their defense against Dixie point guard Ashton Crocker.
All night the senior was faced with a box-and-one, effectively taking the point guard out of the equation offensively for the Hornets.
Crocker, who scored 11 points in the first matchup, was kept to just four points on the night.
“She’s a shooter. She’s a good shooter, a really good shooter,” Wideman said. “I knew part of that battle, even if (Georgia Wojtkowski) and (Savannah Kent) started scoring, I knew if Crocker started scoring then she was going to be hitting. I had to stop her from scoring first. She’s a natural leader on the court, and it’s beautiful to see. I knew if I didn’t do something about it, it could cause us some harm.”
Contact sports writer Cody Estremera at 864-943-2530.
