MacArthur presses past Calhoun

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MacArthur and Calhoun battled back-and-forth for the first half of its Conference AA-III girls’ basketball matchup on Jan. 20, swapping leads four different times. But after halftime, the Lady Generals found their groove on defense and pulled away for a 63-46 victory, outscoring the Lady Colts by 13 points in the third quarter.

Using their aggression on defense to push the pace on offense, MacArthur went to the line 31 times—converting 19—and drained six three-pointers to even the season series with Calhoun.

“Our game is three-pointers and free throws,” former Calhoun coach and current MacArthur coach Dave Radtke said in his return to the Lady Colts’ gym. “With our pressure, we play everyone and they’re buying into it.”

Through the first 13 games, the Lady Generals (6-7 overall, 3-5 in AA-III) amassed a whopping 296 free throws, including 43 in the first meeting with the Lady Colts, a 57-50 victory by Calhoun on Dec. 16, in which MacArthur converted just 13 of 43 attempts from the charity stripe and also played without junior guard Caitlyn Buckey. She scored five points in the win over Calhoun, but more importantly, helped jumpstart the defense with a pair of steals and move the offense in transition.

“We seemed to struggle [against the press],” Lady Colts coach Bill Zatulskis said. “We rushed and didn’t make the best decisions.”

Coming out of halftime, the Lady Generals turned a 31-24 edge into a 17-point lead scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter capped by a pair of free throws from sophomore Angeline Klein after a steal by sophomore Shannon Myles. Senior Ashley Simoes and Myles scored layups in transition during the run with senior guard Jessy Davidson netting a three-pointer during the outburst.

Calhoun (3-10 overall, 3-5 in AA-III) didn’t score in the quarter until senior Lauren Hilke hit a jumper with 3:05 remaining, then MacArthur pushed its lead up to 20, closing the quarter out with nine of the game’s next 13 points.  A bucket by junior Kasey Bray and was followed by a basket and free throw from sophomore Angeline Kline and two more free throws by Buckley. A layup by Bray ended the quarter-long scoring run. Calhoun freshman Honora Campbell scored the Lady Colts final four points in the frame.

“We have a system that keeps [players] fresh,” Radtke said, noting that he uses all 13 players on his roster, eight of whom scored in the game.

When Calhoun was able to keep things close in the first half, it was on the shoulders of junior forward Kim Pike, who scored 12 of her team-high 16 points over the first two quarters. “She’s our most solid [player] day in and day out,” Zatulskis said. “She’s aggressive, hustles every play and gets up and down the floor.”

Campbell finished strong for the Lady Colts, scoring six of her team’s final seven points in the fourth quarter, to cap a game in which she contributed 10 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Freshman forward Katie Healy chipped in with seven points, 11 boards and three blocks.