One of the toughest things for any first-year high school basketball coach to do is to instill their defensive philosophy in their team. For the Berkshire Badgers girls’ basketball team, defense has been their calling card and led the way as they defeated Chagrin Valley Conference rival Lakeside 46-25 in a crossover game last Saturday afternoon in Ashtabula.
“We have been playing pretty good defense all year,” said Coach Dave Albert. “We stepped up especially in the second half, we did a really tremendous job in the second half. They hit some good shots and had some transition buckets they got on us but we really played some solid halfcourt defense.”
According to the first-year coach, the Badgers (12-6, 4-4) had gone 3-15 in games where they had given up 40 points or more over the last two seasons. Thus far, Berkshire has surrendered 40 points or less in 10 games this season and has gone 9-1.
“That has increased our offense through our defense by getting some more turnovers and has actually created some more points in transition off of the turnovers,” he noted.
On Saturday, the Badgers’ defense was stout in the first period but the offense had yet to show up, as they were outscored by a 7-3 margin.
Albert acknowledged that Berkshire missed some easy looks at the basket but despite the lack of offense, it was still in striking distance thanks to its defense.
The Badgers responded with a stronger second quarter, outscoring Lakeside 14-9 to take a 17-16 lead into the half.
“One of the things we talked about was shooting the ball rather than throwing the ball,” Albert added. “It was a little bit of a different atmosphere, so it took us a little bit of time to adjust and through defensive pressure we were able to get some turnovers which were all lay-ups for us, and we converted. We gave the girls more confidence through the game as the game went on and we started hitting some outside shots.”
Albert said that a key to Berkshire’s offense this year been honing in on high-percentage shots, which come from directly underneath or around the basket. He said the Badgers goal is to average 40 shots per game and its aggressive approach allowed them to overtake the Dragons in the second quarter.
In addition to a stronger offensive showing in the second quarter, Berkshire also was rewarded by getting to the free throw line six times and buried four free throws.
Berkshire’s defense continued sparking its resurgence, by surrendering only three points in the third period and sophomore guard Blythe Bors paced the Badgers by scoring seven points to increase their lead to 27-19.
“It was really good for Blythe to get to the basket,” Albert said of the sophomore guard who tallied 15 points. “She attacked the basket, got some steals and she got locked in and dialed in and it was her season-high point total for us this year in a game. It was really good to see her get to the basket, and she had outside shots she hit too so it was good to see.”
Berkshire’s defense remained impenetrable in the final period and enjoyed their best offensive quarter, scoring 19 points to create a double-digit lead and claim its third consecutive victory.
As the offense improved, the Badgers’ defense finished the game by not allowing Lakeside to score more than double digits in any of the four quarters, marking another impressive road victory in a season where Berkshire has been comfortable on the road by posting a 6-2 record.
“We talk about holding teams to less than 40 points a game,” Albert said. “Our goal on Saturday was less than 15 points a half. We fell one short in the first half but it was a testament to the girls getting better in the rotations and creating bad shot opportunities for the other team. That is what it is about, not giving up easy buckets, rotating and creating bad shots for the other team which we have been doing pretty well so it was a pretty good day.”
With only four games remaining in the season before the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V postseason begins, Albert said that the focus has been on installing some new defensive wrinkles to make the Badgers’ defense that much more dynamic in preparation for the playoffs.
Following a road game against Windham on Wednesday evening, Berkshire will host Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division foe Wickliffe at Burton on Friday night at 5:30 p.m.
