By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — In the 5th Annual Swish Away Cancer game, the Salamanca girls basketball team’s staunch defense took center stage as it ran away from Ellicottville in the second half.
Through two quarters of play, both the Warriors and Eagles found offense hard to come by. Whether it was ill-advised shots that careened off the rim or backboard, or rushed possessions where a shot was not even taken that led to turnovers, there was just not that much to admire in the first half in terms of efficiency on the offensive end Salamanca coach Joe Hinman acknowledged.
But after the sides emerged from the halftime intermission with the hosts holding a 17-11 advantage, the Warriors made a change. They abandoned a lot of their half court offense, which was consistently running into traps and losing possession on lobbed passes. In turn, they allowed their persistent defense to turn loose after getting a stop and beat the Eagles going downhill.
“The defense was huge, it gave us opportunities to run transition-wise,” Hinman said. “I thought we started out a little flat, but our defense was good most of the game. It was really about just keeping the foot on the gas pedal and making sure we keep the momentum and not let them crawl back in it. So yeah, it started on defense, that’s where a lot of our games, and our wins over the last few games, have come from.
“We just couldn’t get shots to fall early on. They were there, I thought we might have been a little hesitant to shoot the ball when we had chances.”
But as Salamanca started to truly impose itself throughout the second half, and even in the moments it succeeded in the first half, it was its freshman duo of Kynleigh Wass and Maliyah Foster that led the charge.
Wass, who has run the point for the Warriors this season, had the task of shutting down Ellicottville’s Natalee Leiper. And despite Leiper scoring 10 of the Eagles 11 points in the first half, she scored just three in the second half with Wass on the coverage.
“Kynleigh is our best defender, we always put her on the best player from the other team,” Hinman said. “She plays a huge role in getting our defense going, starting our transition, and locking down their best players.”
Salamanca’s Makenzie Crouse (3) puts up a layup after taking contact from an Ellicottville defender. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
Foster scored Salamanca’s first three field goals of the game, all 3-pointers as she led the team in points for the second consecutive game, tallying a team-high 13 on the night. It’s her ability to find her stroke early and Wass’ defensive prowess that has Hinman excited for the future of the program.
“Our freshmen, they’re playing some of the biggest roles on the team right now,” Hinman said. “Kynleigh’s defense, Maliyah’s offense … and her defense is great. … We’re really looking forward to that duo in the years to come. Maliyah really gets things going for us when we need it at a big time.”
But for everything the Warriors did right, they did have some shortcomings. Mainly, according to Hinman, their awareness lacked. And despite how good it was to see his side out-score the opposition 26-15 in the second half, he will be wanting to see improvements made in that area as the postseason inches closer.
A handful of times, notably in the first half, the Warriors found themselves dribbling into traps, not seeing the defenders until it was too late then resorting to risky, lobbed passes.
Hinman’s fix for that problem? Just look up.
“Honestly, it’s just as simple as looking up the floor, whether it’s off a rebound or we’re bringing the ball up, keeping our eyes up and seeing the floor and just trying to find the open look,” Hinman said. “I think our passes are a little too lobbed at times, there’s too much air underneath them. So, we just need to get them to get those passes down and get the ball into their teammates, because we don’t want them going down the other way with it.”
Issues with awareness manifested in the second half as well as a good portion of the points that Ellicottville did score came off back-cuts on lost assignments. What Hinman needs to see in order for that to be cleaned up is an increased level of communication.
“Talking to each other, being alert, seeing the ball, seeing your man, playing between your man and the basket, just fundamental stuff,” Hinman said. “That’s something we will work on, especially before playoffs. We got to tighten up some bolts moving forward.”
The Salamanca girls basketball team and members of the Salamanca community gathered on the court prior to its game against Ellicottville for the 5th Annual Swish Away Cancer game. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
Aside from those two areas that Hinman said his team needs to fine-tune, it was a win he was satisfied with. But the bigger picture that he focussed on after the win was what it meant for him and his team to have played a part in raising money that will all be donated back to community food banks in both Salamanca and Ellicottville and to the Roswell Cancer Institute.
“The win was good, but at the end of the day, Swish Away, it’s bigger than basketball,” Hinman said. “It’s so much bigger. Having the support from Ellicottville, they’re going through a tough time too in their community, so (the two communities), uplifting each other, came together for a really good event.”
Salamanca’s next game will be an away fixture at Franklinville on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.
AT SALAMANCA
Ellicottville (26)
Leiper 4 0-2 10, Marsh 1 2-6 5, John 2 0-0 4, Ficek 1 0-0 3, Northrup 1 0-0 2, Potter 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 2-8 26
Salamanca (43)
Foster 5 0-0 13, McComber 2 3-6 8, Dowdy 3 2-2 8, Crouse 1 2-5 4, Tennity 1 0-0 3, Galante 1 1-2 3, Lafferty 1 0-0 2, Wass 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 8-15 43
Eville 4 11 22 26
Sala. 5 17 30 43Three-point goals: Eville (), Sala. 5 (Foster 3, McComber, Tennity); Total fouls: Eville 13, Sala. 11; fouled out: None.
