Mexico was in the pressure zone on Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs lost their season opener 58-33 to Class 6 Smith-Cotton in the Gary Filbert Classic after allowing 21 steals by the Lady Tigers …
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Mexico was in the pressure zone on Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs lost their season opener 58-33 to Class 6 Smith-Cotton in the Gary Filbert Classic after allowing 21 steals by the Lady Tigers (2-0). Mexico (0-1) was outscored 14-2 in the third quarter as Smith-Cotton started to pull away.
Head coach Makenzie Mudd said the preparation before the game made the team aware of Smith-Cotton’s defense, but Mexico didn’t handle it very well.
“We have been practicing it, but when we were actually in it with their great length, we struggled to find those opportunities to make those passes,” Mudd said. “We just had way too many turnovers against that defense.”
Mexico shot out ahead 9-3 early in the game after back-to-back 3-pointers by Alyssa Miller and Scottie Smith. The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 18-15 after one quarter and couldn’t limit the turnovers the rest of the way.
Brekyn Scanlon accounted for six steals while leading Smith-Cotton with 23 points. Mia Cavanagh also had six steals with her eight points, and Reese Collier had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals in a pressure-packed zone defense.
“They run a pretty aggressive 1-2-2,” Mudd said. “We talked about using that high post more, but we didn’t take advantage of what they gave us.”
Miller led Mexico with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the team’s first double-double only one game into the season. Payton Shaw followed with eight points and four rebounds, and Hannah Loyd and Landri Teel each had four points.
As a freshman, Miller was a key piece in Mexico’s state quarterfinal run last year. Mudd said she has the potential to do more this season.
“She’s even capable of more than what we saw,” Mudd said. “There are a lot of little things, when she goes back and watches film, she’ll see more opportunities she could have had.”
Grace Hudson’s season last year was cut short due to injury and her playing time in this season’s first game had to be cut due to an injury from last week, according to Mudd. Hudson came off the bench, but once Mexico “eases her back in,” Mudd said that all-conference player will have a bigger impact.
Mudd said “second-guessing” didn’t help Mexico bounce back from early mistakes on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs need to be better when they begin the Montgomery County tournament at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 against North Central Missouri Conference rival Fulton.
“Take care of the basketball on offense,” Mudd said. “We’ve got to box out and rebound on both ends of the floor. We didn’t do a good enough job of getting in there, going after loose balls and make sure we capitalize on opportunities.”
