Fitted with a trio between point guard Taylor Sandidge and a duo of point/forwards in Whitney Martin and Rachel Odumu, the Miller girls defense gave Monticello fits whether in man-to-man or occasionally in their zone looks. Early on it was about the Mavericks getting down the court and getting to the basket only to kick it out for open 3-pointers. In the second half, it was all about finishing at the net. Either way, a Miller squad built on depth and versatility proved too much for the Mustangs in the first round of NBC29/Daily Progress Holiday Classic, picking up a 58-33 win.
“It definitely helps have three that can defend,” said Miller coach James Braxton. “They do a good job of pressuring and then getting in the passing lanes when they’re not on the ball. They’ve been around in the program for a couple of years and they did a pretty good job.”
The Mavericks had 10 field goals in the first half, but six of them were beyond the arc as they first built up a 16-9 first quarter lead only to push it out to a 14-point lead going into the break. With Monticello struggling from the field and Miller winning the battle on the glass and getting down the court, Kistin Histand and Martin both knocked down a pair of three’s to pace the action.
“We talked a lot about driving and dishing because we got kids that can get into the lane,” Braxton said. “We’ve got a couple of stand still shooters also though with Kristin Histand and Lilly Riggleman. With the three that can drive this is something we’ve really thought about and they’ve been paying a lot of attention to it.”
In the second half, Monticello went to its bench looking for a spark, but Odumu took over the game on both ends, creating turnovers and leading the way to a 20-0 run out of the break to make it 49-15. Odumu was a problem offensively from all over, penetrating and finishing underneath but also knocking down long range jumpers to score eight of her game high 13 points.
“I think in the second half we just really picked it up,” Odumu said. “With Whitney and Taylor and myself, we can shoot the three so that opens up the wings but also we have Adrienne Darden down low and when she’s on fire that just gives us so much range. You can get the ball and drive or drive and look for the open shot. There’s just a lot of versatility.”
The Mustangs found some life at the end of the third thanks to Allie Perez, and were able to get their offense going in the fourth both behind its bench and midway through the final frame when the starters reentered. Molly Shephard led fourth quarter run where Monticello outscored Miller 16-6 as she picked up six of her team best nine points. But by then the damage had been more than done.
“If we want to get to where we want to get to, these are the teams that you have to beat,” said Monticello coach Josh McElheney. “They’re athletic, have a really good point guard, really good wings and big in the post. We’ve got to do better defensively. He did hold Sandidge to seven points, I thought that was pretty good but it wasn’t one person that beat us.”
Joining Odumu in double figures for Miller was Martin who had 12 points despite playing with four fouls for most of the second half. Histand finished with nine points on a trio of three’s. Darden had four points, but her presence in the post could not be understated as he forced defenders inside to create the open looks for the 3-pointers.
Outside of Shephard, Monticello got its scoring from Bridget Holleran who had five points and both Cierra Hall and Perez who added four each.
Monticello (5-2) jumps into the consolation bracket to face a Waynesboro team that fell in the first round. That game with start at 3 p.m. at Albemarle.
Miller (7-3) moves on to face hosting Albemarle at 6:30 p.m.
