Storm girls fall short vs. Bayard

 After Allie Blackwelder’s short jumper gave the Creek Valley Storm an early lead in the opening moments of the girls’ MAC consolation game, it was all down hill from there.

With a consistent effort from start-to-finish, the Bayard Tigers topped the Storm 44-29 to earn third place at MAC. The Storm’s record fell to 5-8 while the Tigers advanced to 6-9.

After Blackwelder gave her team an early lead, the Tigers ran off seven straight points to take the lead for good. But Creek Valley was still very much in the contest after the first quarter as it trailed by just three at 9-6.

Offensive struggles, however, compromised their chances over the second eight minutes.

Though Blackwelder again got her team off on the right foot in the second with a pair of free throws, Creek Valley scored just three more points the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Tigers began finding the bottom of the net with regularity.

At one point late in the second, Bayard’s Miah Vera scored eight straight points. She nailed two three pointers just 20 seconds apart and followed shortly thereafter with a two-point jumper. Payje Misegadis finished off the quarter with Creek Valley’s fifth point leaving the Storm in a 24-11 hole after 16 minutes.

“It was kind of a frustrating day, it seemed like nobody wanted to be here,” said Storm senior Jill Behrends.

Behrends is usually primarily the Storm’s go-to long-range shooter. She managed just one three pointer as Bayard focused on keeping her in check.

“They boxed-and-oned us all night long and they really bottled me up,” Behrends said. “I tried to shake loose but it never worked out.”

The Storm showed more life in the second half, but couldn’t make up its large deficit. Behrends hit her only trey of the game in the third quarter but Creek Valley still fell into an 18 point hole at 33-15.

Stefanie Mitchell ingnited a 7-2 run to end the frame leaving the Storm down by just 13 after three, 35-22. Hannah Schievelbein was responsible for three of the seven points in the run while Behrends accounted for the other two.

The Storm could make little headway over the final eight minutes though Misegadis ended the game with a three pointer.

Schievelbein was the top scorer for Creek Valley with six points while Behrends added five. Schievelbein and Behrends also led on the boards with seven rebound apiece.

Joey Straber added six boards to go along with a team high two assists. Mitchell had five swipes to lead the team.

Creek Valley will have nearly a week to regroup when it will host Garden County at the Thunder Dome on Friday at about 5:30 p.m.