Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades was sure his team’s lack of speed and size would force him to be a zone coach in his first year with the Lady Eagles.
But a string of poor play before the Christmas break forced Rhoades to reconsider his approach. The Lady Eagles went exclusively to man-to-man defense starting with their holiday tournament, and after last night’s 49-34 win over Bald Eagle Area in Wingate, they’re 2-1 since adopting the new philosophy.
In fact, last night the Lady Eagles played like a team ready to embrace man defense. Tyrone defended full-court and forced 25 turnovers and limited BEA to 14-of-52 shooting to improve to 4-7 overall and 1-5 in MAC Division 2 play.
In turn, their defensive effort was rewarded by better looks the offensive end in their second-highest output of the season. Senior Meg Turiano scored a career- and game-high 13 points, while classmate Liz Tepsic netted 12 to go along with 13 rebounds.
“I told Megan after the game she played one heck of a game,” said Rhoades. “She came in off the bench and did her job, and she did it well.”
Freshman point guard Rachel Emigh may have had the biggest impact on the game, despite scoring only six points. Her ability to defend from end to end changed the tempo for Bald Eagle Area, while her comfort running Tyrone’s offense was a major factor in the Lady Eagles’ season-low nine turnovers.
“All of our girls, Rachel and Brooke (Garbinsky) especially, did a great job on their guards, which is important,” Rhoades said. “If you stop their guards, it makes passes tough. So when we can play man like this, it really helps us.”
The Lady Eagles trailed BEA 10-8 after the first quarter, but Tepsic and Kayla Corle combined to lead Tyrone on a 9-2 run to take a 17-12 lead by the 4:12 mark. BEA battled back behind post Brittany Doran and tied the game at 19 by halftime.
Tyrone took command with a 9-0 run to end the third quarter. Trailing 26-23, Turiano scored inside to pull the Lady Eagles within one, Emigh netted a hoop on the baseline, Garbinsky nailed a three and Corle scored on a drive with 26 seconds left to make it 33-26.
Over the first 4:05 of the fourth, Tyrone outscored BEA 13-2 to put the game away. The highlight of the run came on three consecutive Bald Eagle possessions that ended in steals and lay-ups for the Lady Eagles. Tepsic had two, sandwiched around another by Emigh.
“We played good solid defense, which translated into a lot of offensive opportunities,” said Rhoades. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, but it’s tough to come down here, and it’s a tough place to play.”
With 10 points, Katherine Hoover was the top scorer for BEA, which fell to 2-7 and 1-6.
TYRONE 49 BALD EAGLE AREA 34
TYRONE – Tepsic 6 0-0 12; Turiano 6 1-3 13; Corle 3 1-4 8; Faretta 1 0-0 2; Garbinsky 2 0-0 5; Emigh 3 0-0 6; Harden 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 22 3-8 49.
BALD EAGLE AREA – Hoover 5 0-0 10; Weaver 1 2-2 3; Simpson 0 0-0 0; Mann 1 0-0 2; Reese 1 0-0 2; Masters 2 1-1 5; Doran 3 2-4 8; Giedroc 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 14 6-9 34.
3-POINT GOALS – Tyrone 2 (Corle, Garbinsky)
TYRONE 8 11 14 16 – 49
BALD EAGLE AREA 10 9 7 8 – 34
