Trailing through most of the non-league contest on Wednesday, Dec. 28, Elma had a chance to close in tight with Fife at home, but couldn’t conver enough chances in a 44-37 loss.
Both teams employed full-court pressure defenses and transition offenses, with the Eagles (4-5) getting enough stops on the Trojans (6-4) to stay close, but not enough offense to overcome a near game-long deficit.
“I’m happy with how we played, that was something we were looking for coming out of (the holiday) break,” Elma head coach Lisa Johnson said. “(Fife) is a bigger school and they’re athletic. So, sometimes passes that would make it against some schools didn’t make it tonight when you have quick players.”
Down 35-25 entering the fourth quarter, Molly Johnston converted an offensive rebound for Elma, which turned into its lone field goal of the quarter. For the remainder of the game, the Eagles’ points came at the free-throw line.
Defensively, Elma shut off Fife’s transition offense for just one free throw in the first five minutes of the frame. The Eagles hit just 4-of-7 shots from the free-throw line to trail, 36-31 with 3:11 left in the contest.
Unfortunately, Elma would be unable to get closer. It did get back down to five, 41-36, with 47.4 seconds remaining on two Peyton Elliott free throws, but that was all. All told, Elma was 10-for-20 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Fife used a mixture of Elma turnovers, its two field goals in the final minute of play and a few free throws to survive.
“We got the stops, but we got fouled and never got into a flow of the offense,” Johnson said. “The legs got tired in the fourth. We put ourselves into a position to win it. I’m proud of the girls. They played with a lot energy and they hustled. We had to pull out of our press. They’re athletic. Offensively, we just need to execute better. We got into a six-minute lull there and that’s been our tendancy at times.”
Elma started hot and kept up with Fife’s running transition game in the first half. Leading 9-6 on a Kali Rambo offensive rebound putback, the Eagles were finding their offensive rhythm early. The Trojans grabbed the momentum back at the end of the quarter by forcing a few turnovers and converting two late shots for a 9-0 quarter-ending run to lead 15-9.
The run slowly turned into a 15-0 sprint with a 21-9 margin midway through the second quarter, a lead the Trojans would maintain until the fourth quarter. Elliott helped Elma stay close enough with a few free throws and an inside transition basket as the Eagles trailed 25-16 at the half.
Elliott led the Eagles with 13 points, with Quin Mikel and Johnston each pulling down 13 rebounds. Christina Willis led all scorers with 17 points for Fife.
Elma lost to Tumwater, 43-29, later in the week, but the results of that game were not reported.
Fife 15 10 10 9 — 44 Elma 9 7 9 12 — 37
Fife (44) — Willis 17, Ramil, Hernandez 6, Hunter 10, Morton 3, Wise, Yukish 6, Bertch, Knutsen 2. FG — 17-52. FT — 9-20.
Elma (37) — Elliott 13, Sutherby, Olson, Neary 1, Johnson, Mikel 9, Heller, Johnston 10, Rambo 4, Bieker. FG — 11-47. FT — 14-31.
JV — Elma 44, Fife 22. Emily Newberry 20 points for Elma.
