Rock Hills Lady Grizzlies handily defeated the Thunder Ridge Lady Longhorns by a score of 55-29 in a pre-season tournament game held on Dec.10, in Stockton, dominating the offensive and defensive scheme of things from start to finish.
Bethany Simmelink, the team’s leader, joined with her teammates in swarming the Longhorns enough with defensive pressure, including turnovers, along with a sharp offensive push, to prevent the Longhorns from scoring.
Jenna Barnes of the Longhorns finally ended the scoring drought in the first quarter, when she stole the ball from the Grizzlies and got it to Shae Baker for the bucket, representing the only score in the first quarter of the game for Thunder Ridge.
Alex Fogo responded quickly for the Grizzlies team after that 2 point score by Barnes, scoring a buzzer-beating basket with 2 seconds left in the first quarter, as the Grizzlies had a 23-2 lead by the end of the first quarter.
High-scoring Halley Mizner of the Grizzlies, had 12 points by half-time. Halley said, “We hustled really good, but we really need to work on our rebounding.”
The second half began with a nice field goal by Jasmine Ferguson of the Longhorns, when a pass from Khloe Reimer gave her a good shot and she scored.
Mizner was coming for the Longhorns though, usually with a turnover and a score in reply to any attempt the Longhorns made for a comeback, with good teamwork and precision passing on full display by the girls from Rock Hills.
Coach Nick Mizner identified Bethany Simmelink as a leader, and a mover and shaker on his team. Coach said, “Simmelink is a junior, a 3 year starter now, and we are going to go with how she goes.”
Coach Mizner reflected on the recent first pre-season game against Pike Valley at home court. He said, “It was not pretty, but it was a win, though it was hard to find some offense that night.” The Grizzlies beat Pike Valley 33-27 on Dec. 6 in Mankato.
Throughout the game, Simmelink displayed an uncanny ability to pass or receive passes from her teammates very well, as it was obvious that the Rock Hills team had completely kept the Longhorns on their heels, with an overwhelming run in the first quarter that left the Longhorns nearly scoreless for the first quarter. The Longhorns were always busy trying to catch up to the Grizzlies’ fast breaks or fast passes.
Coach Mizner said, “Halley Mizner is our second go-to person, if not our first go-to, but it is a give-and-take kind of game. Our freshmen and sophomores step up and contribute too.”
Coach Mizner sees the Lady Grizzlies play as more complete as a team, especially compared to the time when he first started coaching the girls three seasons ago.
Bethany Simmelink’s mother, Jennifer Simmelink, was present in the stands and enjoyed watching her daughter playing so well.
Mizner said, “The fast break now is as best as it ever was. We need to box out better. This will be my third year with the girls. I worked with the boys for 4 years. I took a year off and then came back.”
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