By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — The Salamanca girls basketball team, thanks to an aggressive emphasis on both ends of the court, put an end to Olean’s recent run of fortune with a 51-23 win on the road.
As of late, the Warriors have had their struggles finding a consistent pace on the offensive and defensive end. Against the Huskies, coach Joe Hinman challenged his team to play the way they are capable of playing and to not allow whatever their hosts do to bog down their gameplan. What he got in response was just that.
“We really set the tone with our press early on,” Hinman said. “We just put the pressure on them and sped it up. We let them make some mistakes, tried to get easy transition baskets to get the game going, to kind of find our rhythm. I think that’s the biggest thing for us, get that rhythm on offense, work the ball, especially in transition, get the ball up the floor off defensive turnovers and our offense can settle into that.”
As a result of that pressure, Salamanca won the first quarter 12-2 and kept things going in the second, entering halftime with a 23-7 lead.
According to Olean coach Chelsea Bowker, it was a lack of the exact thing Hinman’s team played with that led to its struggles on both ends of the court: aggression.
“We just didn’t play aggressive,” Bowker said. “We weren’t ready from the jump, we were sluggish, we were quiet. You’re not going to beat an aggressive team like that.”
“Us losing the ball, turning it over, not going strong to hoop it, that’s why we started off slow. They got to be ready when they play a team like this. When you play aggressive teams, you got to be able to step to the ball, you got to be able to dribble harder, and they just weren’t doing that.”
Salamanca’s Madisyn Lafferty (14) rises up for a 3-pointer. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
What made the result all the more disappointing for Bowker was that she knows her team has the ability to play at such a level. Olean, prior to squaring off with Salamanca, had won its last two games, including a big win over Fredonia in which it showed a capability to play aggressively.
“At Fredonia we played aggressive, I have not seen us play that aggressive since,” Bowker said. “We played zone and pressed the whole game (at Fredonia) and we just haven’t been able to replicate that yet. But that’s what really gets us in the groove. When we can press and keep the ball under control full-court, we can drop into a zone and play tough, we’re going to win games.”
And while she may have only contributed six points on the night behind a team-leading 10-point performance from Anna Bates, Bowker noted that a great deal of the success the Huskies have had as of late can be attributed to the efforts of Alaina Hirliman, whose growth has her coach excited for the future.
“I want to say it was right around December, I had a good, long chat with her about what I expected and what I needed and she’s really responded well, and she’s shown it the last couple games,” Bowker said. “I mean, she’s averaging double digits, she plays hard, she talks on the floor. So, it’s definitely something to look forward to in the future.”
But the struggles of the Huskies were of no concern to the Warriors as they continuously benefited off of them throughout the second half.
Leilene McComber led the visitors with a game-high 14 points. She was backed up by Maliyah Foster’s 10 points and Kynleigh Wass’ eight on the night.
“We were able to get looks, everyone was in attack mode tonight and gave themselves opportunities to get better offensively,” Hinman said. “It was a good test for us, just to see if we could handle those types of games. We kind of got out-of-hand sometimes with the physicality. But it was an overall good, good game for us.”
Specifically, Hinman gave Wass her flowers after the game. As a freshman, Wass has been tasked with leading Salamanca from the point guard position and the growth she has shown over the course of the season thus far has impressed him.
“Her composure just handling the ball is huge for us,” Hinman said. “Whether it’s slowing things down or starting to break, she really is in control of the offense. So, seeing that confidence build each game for her and knowing that we can trust her is huge, and her teammates trust her as well. So, it’s good to see that confidence, especially as a freshman. We’re looking forward to seeing her grow.
“Kynleigh is one of our top defenders and often takes on the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player.”
Olean’s Ava Finch (1) brings the ball up the court while guarded by Salamanca’s Maliyah Foster (15). (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
Salamanca will look to ride the momentum of the complete-game performance into its next game, a home affair against Fredonia on Jan. 30 that will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
As for Olean, it will look to get back to winning ways on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Southwestern.
AT OLEAN
Salamanca (51)
McComber 2 10-14 14, Foster 4 0-0 10, Wass 3 2-6 8, Crouse 2 2-6 6, Dowdy 2 1-2 5, Galante 1 2-2 4, Tennity 1 0-0 2, Lafferty 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 17-30 51
Olean (23)
Bates 4 2-6 10, Hirliman 2 1-2 6, Finch 1 0-0 3, J. Battle 1 0-0 3, Mannings 0 1-2 1, Easton 0 0-2 0, Lazynska 0 0-2 0. Totals: 8 4-14 23
Sala. 12 23 41 51
OL 2 7 14 23Three-point goals: Sala. 2 (Foster 2), OL 3 (Finch, Hirliman, Battle); Total fouls: Sala. 18, OL 20; fouled out: None.
