By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — Salamanca girls basketball coach Joe Hinman knew that if his team was going to see similar levels of success compared to last season, effort was going to have to be “by committee.”
Luckily for him, that is exactly what he got as the Warriors came from behind to defeat Pioneer 32-31 in their home opener.
“(We) really found out that it’s never easy to win these games,” Hinman said. “(It was a) really resilient win. We had it tough in the first half, but we made some adjustments. The girls made the adjustments too on the court, and really dug deep against a pretty solid team.”
Salamanca’s first lead of the game did not come until the fourth quarter, having only been tied with Pioneer once before when the score was just 4-4 and trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter.
But momentum can swing fast.
Salamanca’s Skyla Dowdy (4) drives into the lane. Dowdy led the Warriors with eight points in their 32-31 win over Pioneer. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
In the face of the biggest deficit they had seen on the night, the Warriors answered with an 11-2 run, capped off by a deep 3-pointer by Skyla Dowdy, to close out the third quarter and get the home crowd in full voice.
With the game tied entering the fourth, the hosts managed to just edge out the victory after four straight missed free throws gave the Panthers a chance to win the game on the final possession. A chance that went untaken.
“A win is a win, no matter what class (your opponent is),” Hinman said. “I told the girls, it’s never easy to win in any game. So just showing up and putting on a good show for this home crowd was huge. We had a great crowd and great support tonight, and it was good to see the energy level, it was amazing.”
A big credit Hinman gave to his team was its ability to respond to the necessary adjustments. He acknowledged that there were times throughout the first half where the Warriors’ pace of play was off kilter. According to him, the key was finding a comfortable pace and sticking with it.
“We really talked about our tempo, we were going too fast,” Hinman said. “I think if you’re going too fast, you’re playing slow. So we really had to slow it down and see what we had offensively. We were able to draw some things up, and we got some good looks in the second half, where in the first half, I think we were driving, and we were a little too frantic and turning the ball over. So we made those adjustments and took care of the ball.”
That struggle to find a comfortable speed manifested in the number of good opportunities Salamanca had that went awry with open layups careening off the rim or backboard.
“The easy ones are sometimes the hardest to make,” Hinman said. “Another halftime discussion we had finishing is layups, finishing a defensive possession and finishing the game too. We took care of it, it was a gritty win, and we played all 32 minutes. We needed all 10 girls to step up and everyone did.”
Salamanca’s Kynleigh Wass (2) kicks a pass out to the wing after drawing a defender under the basket. Wass finished with six points for the Warriors. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
Salamanca had seven different players score and managed to pull out the victory with none reaching double figures. Dowdy led the scoring category for hosts with eight points while Kynleigh Wass, Makenzie Crouse and Leilene McComber finished with six apiece.
According to Hinman, the aggression that McComber and Dowdy played with as the game went on gave the Warriors an edge as they drove to the basket and pounced on rebounds with success. But what was equally as crucial was how they did so while keeping their composure.
“The aggressiveness is good, but (if it’s) under control,” Hinman said. “They can make a lot of things happen when they’re dribbling, driving, whether it’s a kick-out or dump pass underneath, or, hitting a little floater and whether it goes in or not, we can get a put back. Those two, especially driving the ball, really make things happen for us offensively, it gets everyone going.”
There were some key adjustments made on the defensive end as well during the halftime interval, Hinman admitted. Ones that were, once again, taken in stride by his players as they kept the Panthers limited to deep shots and conceded just nine points throughout the entirety of the second half.
“We switched to the 2-3 to kind of stop the penetration inside and try to keep the ball out of the middle,” Hinman said. “The help side was there more with the 2-3 and we were extremely active when we needed it most.”
Salamanca’s nailbiter of a win was its first for the season after having started the campaign with a loss on the road to Jamestown. But Hinman is hopeful that a win of this caliber will come with some early momentum.
The Warriors hit the road for their next game at Springville-Griffith Institute which will be on Dec. 14 with tip-off scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Salamanca’s Makenzie Crouse (3) gets surrounded by Pioneer defenders as she rises up for a jumper. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
AT SALAMANCA
Pioneer (31)
Leederman 4 6-7 15, Bull 2 0-0 4, Hopkins 1 0-0 3, S. Edwards 1 1-2 3, Mason 0 3-4 3, Lindsey 1 0-0 2, E. Edwards 0 1-2 1. Totals: 9 11-15 31
Salamanca (32)
Dowdy 3 0-2 8, Wass 2 1-2 6, Crouse 3 0-0 6, McComber 2 1-6 6, Foster 1 2-4 4, Ross 1 1-2 3, Galante 0 2-4 2. Totals: 13 7-20 32
Pio. 10 22 26 31
Sala. 6 15 26 32
Three-point goals: Pio. (), Sala. 4 (Dowdy 2, Wass, McComber); Total fouls: Pio. 20, Sala. 14; fouled out: Mason (Pio.), Bull (Pio.)
JV: Salamanca won.
