Lady Cards beat Shakamak, 53-47

Shakamak's Marki Collins (right) tries to find her way around Bloomfield's Britney Pinnick during a county battle at Jasonville Tuesday night. The Lady Cardinals handed the Lady Lakers a 53-47 setback. (By Rick Curl/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

JASONVILLE -- Brittney Combs, Elyse Weddle and Alley Gilliland proved to be a deadly trio for the Bloomfield Lady Cardinals in their Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference opener here against Shakamak.

They combined for 47 points to lead the Lady Cardinals to a 53-47 win.

"Shakamak's great athletic team and I knew it was going to be a tough battle in here," Bloomfield (2-2, 1-0 SWIAC) first-year coach Chris Hitchcock said. "My kids are growing. In every game so far we've gotten a little bit better and a little bit better. If we hit free throws we probably make that a little bit more comfortable game."

For Shakamak (1-3, 1-2) coach Troy Fougerousse there were positives despite the loss.

"We've had two games now that we hang around and hang around because we're so scrappy," Fougerousse said. "We get after it, but we're unable to convert in situations we need to."

The hot shooting Combs drained a game-high 20 points on 7 of 17 from the field and 5 of 8 from the charity stripe.

She took up the slack at the free throw line where both teams struggled to find any consistency. Her 4 of 6 success in the final quarter helped seal the game after the Lady Lakers had managed to whittle a 10-point lead in half by the final two minutes.

But Combs was solid at the free throw line and didn't disappoint her coach. On the last three trips down the floor for Bloomfield Combs came through connecting on 4 of 6 attempts.

"Brittney really stepped up," Hitchcock said. "I'm pleased with her effort and intensity."

For Gilliland it was a tale to two halves.

She had been held in check by the Shakamak defensive perimeter players Jade Gambill and Makayla Crane.

They had held her to zero points and just two rebounds. But in the final two quarters she made an impact scoring six in each period, nearly matching the hot shooting of Combs.

The 5-4 junior point guard finished the night connecting on 5 of 10 shots from the field and backed it up with a 2 of 4 showing at the line -- plus she was able to limit the success of the Lady Lakers on the perimeter.

"I'm asking Alley to do so much: be the point guard, run the offense in half court and be our best defensive player," Hitchcock said. "Tonight she did three really well."

While Combs and Gilliland were busy frustrating the Lady Lakers, Weddle was in a world of her own in the paint.

The 5-10 senior stalwart connected on 7 of 12 shots and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

"We knew coming in that Weddle was very strong and very athletic," Fougerousse said. "We had to have a lot of help on her. And that left Combs open."

The Lady Lakers countered with 11 points from senior point guard Casey Fougerousse, nine each from Crane, Kristi Pearson and Marki Collins.

It was the first time Collins had suited up this season due to illness.

Things looked promising for Shakamak through three quarters as they managed to stay within striking distance.

Bloomfield led 14-12 at the first stop, 29-24 at the half and 39-33 after three quarters. Then coach Fougerousse said a lack of a deep bench hindered his team's efforts.

"We've got Marki back now so we plan to go eight or nine deep," Fougerousse said. "Our girls were a little winded tonight. But, we're going to have to get in shape because that's just the way we're going to have to play -- in that full court up and down (style)."

Bloomfield returns to action Thursday, Dec. 3 when they host Class A No. 1 Vincennes Rivet in a 6 p.m. contest while the Lady Lakers host Barr-Reeve Monday, Nov. 30, also at 6 p.m.

Bloomfield prevailed 37-31 in the junior varsity contest as Jordan Myers scored 13 points, Kristin Hall seven, Kari Schulte three and Macayla Myers and Bethany Martin two points each.

Shakamak was led by Brooke Samm and Savannah Turner with eight points each, Kelsey Pilant with three and Lydia Bredeweg with two.

Bloomfield (53) -- Julie Riggins 1-1 0-0 2, Alley Gilliland 5-10 2-4 12, Brittney Combs 7-17 5-8 20, Elena Weddle 0-0 0-0 0, Britney Pinnick 2-3 0-0 4, Taylor Gilmore 0-4 0-4 0, Elyse Weddle 7-12 1-5 15. Totals 22-47 8-21 53.

Shakamak (47) -- Casey Fougerousse 3-13 2-4 11, Mikayla Crane 4-10 1-2 9, Jade Gambill 3-11 1-2 7, Jazmine Martin 1-4 0-0 2, Kristi Pearson 4-5 1-2 9, Cassandra Holdaway 0-0 0-0 0, Marki Collins 3-6 1-4 9. Totals 18-49 6-14 47.

Bloomfield 14 15 10 14 -- 53

Shakamak 12 13 8 14 -- 47

3-point shooting -- Bloomfield 1-6 (Combs 1-4, Gilliland 0-1, Gilmore 0-1), Shakamak 5-15 (Fougerousse 3-9, Collins 2-3, Gambill 0-2, Martin 0-1). Total fouls -- Bloomfield 10, Shakamak 18. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none. Rebounds -- Bloomfield 33 (Elyse Weddle 14), Shakamak 21 (Crane 5, Gambill 5). Steals -- Bloomfield 4 (Riggins 2), Shakamak 7 (Crane 3). Blocked shots -- Bloomfield 2 (Gilmore 2), Shakamak 1 (Gambill 1). Turnovers -- Bloomfield 20, Shakamak 17.