Tonight, Garrett hosts Angola in what should be an exciting and interesting battle in one of the NECC’s biggest rivalries. In recent years, Angola and Garrett have become the standard of a rivalry in girls basketball in the NECC. Angola and Garrett have been thorns to their path towards greatness time and time again, but tonight these two teams look to reverse their slow starts as they combine for a 3-6 start overall.
Angola is coming off a week filled with mixed results after losing 42-35 to Eastside and beating West Noble less than 24 hours later 56-30. Angola has had an up and down start to their season, which seems to be a trend with their recent November’s. Garrett, on the other hand, has seen them off to their slowest start in 5 years after losing 45-34 last Friday against DeKalb. The interesting thing with Garrett is they do seem to have signs of being the juggernaut they’ve been, but it’s very evident that growing pains were going to happen early in the season.
Now, we will see how these teams fare as they look to get back in the NECC race before they get to enjoy some 🦃 and gravy. Angola leads the tightly contested series over the last 20 years 16-13.
Keys to winning
1. Establish Offense Flow Inside (Aka Attack the paint)
One of the key things going into this match is their ability to score and defend the paint. That’s been the one area that’s traditionally won this game in the past. Garrett, obviously, dominated that area during those 3 years because of the tremendous size and athleticism Garrett had in that frontcourt.
The size part at Garrett is still prominent, but they’re definitely missing some of that it factor they had from Taylor Gerke and Morgan Ostrowski. Kelsey Bergman is a kid that has done an exceptional job filling a huge hole from last season, and if she can stay on the floor more often, that could be vital to Garrett’s success tonight.
Angola hopes this could open up their offense as the Hornets come into tonight shooting right around 35% from the floor, and they know that number has to go up. They haven’t shot better than 40% (other than the WN game) since their season opener at Carroll. The 3-ball will have its ups and downs, especially since they don’t have Lexi Stillman on the floor right now. We have to take it for what it is, but Angola still has to make baskets, and so that means they’ll to run their set offense well, and be ready to attack the paint.
Last year, I don’t think they did a very good job early on in applying that concept. While I still see some of these growing pains from early last season, I think they’re starting to figure that part out. It’s just a matter of establishing their tempo and ball movement to be able to attack the basket.
This also means they need to rebound well. Angola has actually found their strength from rebounding the basketball. Even against the best teams in the area, I don’t think you can assess the team and say they can’t clean up the glass. That is something they’re getting much better at. Angola is hovering around 10 offensive boards per game, and that’s mainly due to the fact Leah Snyder is just a really smart basketball player that has that knack for boxing out for loose balls. When you have a 5’5 kid averaging nearly 8 boards a game, you know you have an athlete on your roster.
That’s going to be the key challenge for Garrett as they prepare for this matchup. However, Garrett is averaging 35 BOARDS per game! 11 of them come from Bailey Kelham and 9.3 of them come from Kelsey Bergman. And really this game is about which team can attack the glass the best because both teams know how to play physical basketball.
2. Close Out Perimeter Shooters
This is the interesting part about this game because this is an area that does favor Garrett. While Garrett is off to a slow start, you have to love their ability to defend the perimeter. Almost every game they’ve played, they’ve held opponents below 30% from the 3. So what does it tell you about their struggles? A lot of it stems from points off of turnovers.
At the same time, however, Angola has a few kids that can hit some big shots. Remember the Hornets shot 58% from the 3 against Carroll, they can make them if they’re feeling it. One player in particular to watch is Macy Oberlin because she’s a 6’0 small forward that can get on a surge of making 3’s. But Garrett has to force her to earn her baskets inside. Oberlin shoots right around 30% from 3, but shoots well below 30% from the 2. And so far, Garrett’s defense has been on par to their standards.
Another one is Jaelyn Fee who leads the team in 3’s made if I recall and is hovering around 30% as well from the 3. But here’s the interesting thing, Jaelyn Fee has yet to make a 2-point field goal this season. So if they can contain her perimeter presence, that’s a big sign for Garrett.
Away from the 3, obviously you have to worry about the speed of Kylie Caswell. Caswell’s speed gives opposing teams fits. Caswell is shooting around 40% from the field but nearly 45% from the 2. Plus she’s their best ball distributor on the team by far this season.
On Angola’s side, this one’s tricky because that has been the thorn to Angola’s side lately. DeKalb made over a half of dozen 3’s against Angola a few weeks ago, and Eastside hit some clutch shots led by Sydnee Kessler. With Garrett, this is an ice cold offense shooting 28% from 3. However, Bailey Kelham is 40% from 3! 40% (8 3’s already)! She’s averaging 22.3 points per game to lead the conference and leads the conference in rebounds!
This is why Angola has to do a better job of finding shooters and making life harder for the offense to find their looks. This has to be a grind it out, physical game where every shot is coming inside and with very little room. Plus, Maddy Schenkel is ONLY shooting 38% from 3, and I know she’s a better shooter than even those numbers. Schenkel has struggled in her tenure at Garrett so far, but if she finds her mojo tonight, Angola is in trouble.
3. Staying out of foul trouble
Tonight is going to be a war at Paul Bateman Gymnasium. The atmosphere is always electric whenever these two battle it out. But it’s also a rivalry game in the NECC. You have to expect both teams to come out with their work boots and compete hard until the final whistle is blown.
Now both teams don’t have the deepest of benches, ESPECIALLY Garrett. So whoever can maintain their most composure and being able to avoid the brutal foul calls that could happen tonight, that’s crucial. Like I said, Garrett needs Kelsey Bergman to provide that size and length needed to contain Leah Snyder and Bailey Holman inside. Obviously, Garrett needs Bailey Kelham on the floor for Bailey Kelham reasons. She’s their best player. And of course Maddy Schenkel is important on both sides.
So, to take away from this last point, you have to assume this game is going to be a cat fight. It’s going to be a long game for both teams because this is for the NECC right here! They need this game. A win like this could go a long way to how the rest of their conference will go.
Players to Watch
Angola
Kylie Caswell Junior Point Guard
Big time players make big time plays, and tonight Kylie Caswell has to assert her will and be able to get the offense needed to beat this team. This is a huge obstacle to climb here because Caswell historically struggles against teams with size, but not with Garrett for some reason. Caswell averages 7.5 points per game in her career against Garrett, but averaged 13 a game last season against this same team. Dating back to last season, Angola is 9-5 when Caswell hits double figures in scoring.
Garrett
Bailey Kelham Senior Small Forward
Over her successful career, Kelham has been a Hornet killer in her career. She’s averaging 14.1 points 5.6 boards and 0.7 blocks per game against Angola. That’s 7 times her team has played Angola in her career. Right there tells you why this game is soooo important to both of these teams because these two have set themselves up for meaningful basketball down the stretch. Now the question becomes: Can Garrett do it one more time? The 2023 class has a lifetime record of 4-3 against Angola. So you know this game has the makings for a classic.
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