Palomar Comets shot their way through the Mesa Olympians women’s basketball team with a final score of 55-37. Comets Bailey Nyla and Matheney Lauren used their height to their advantage, both players reaching double figures. Lady Olympian Shelby Watson left with 13 points and guard La Queshia “PJ” Donald finished with 11.
The start of the first half began with active drives that sadly ended with reckless turnovers for Mesa. It seemed that Annessa Jamison’s steal half way through the first quarter would reverse the momentum, but her efforts were returned with shot clock violations and broken plays.
Coach Michael Hootner showed no attempt to hide his frustration, which increased during the second half. Palomar’s center Nyla remained dominant over the Olympians throughout the entire game, unchallenged in the paint.
“Their posts were tough,” said Hootner. “They hurt us big time in the interior. They were very solid and it made a big difference especially on the inbound plays. We were slow to adjust and they made us pay, and I have to take responsibility for that.”
Two foul shots were made to start the second half by Donald, but turnovers remained a problem. Instead of looking for open shots the team passed the ball around to their teammates, subsequently increasing the number of shot clock violations and unforced errors.
Center Schenelle Johnson made notice of her effort.
“I guess I could have went harder, ran up and down the court more and played better defense,” Johnson said.
During the last ten minutes of the game, Mesa was determined to put points on the scoreboard. But the Olympians’ efforts failed to surpass Palomar’s.
“In the first half, on turnovers, I don’t think we did so well,” said Donald. “But in the second half we put it to them, so I think we did really well.”
Forward Bridgette Palmer thought the team lacked staying power on the court.
“We had a lot of deflections and steals in the first half, we just didn’t finish,” Palmer said.
When asked what they needed to work on, members of the Olympians stated that they needed to execute offensively in order to get good shot opportunities.
With a 3-18 record, the Lady Olympians, hopefully, are prepared to face Grossmont in El Cajon later this week.
Game Notes:
1st half, 16-25. Palomar – 9 field goals. One three-pointer. 6 of 7 made from the line.
Mesa – 6 field goals. 4 of 5 from the line.
2nd half, 37-55. Palomar – Center Bailey Nyla had 9 pts out of 13 in second half.
Mesa – Shelby Watson had 8 points in second half.