Lady Blackhawks beat Deer Park for season's first win

When asked, new Cheney High School girls' basketball head coach JT Johnson will tick off a laundry list of areas where the young Lady Blackhawks need to improve if they are to enjoy some success on the hardwoods this season.

Better execution, cut back on turnovers, improve rebounding, they're all up there, but none higher than the one area of basketball just about every coach agrees they would like to see their team excel.

"The biggest thing I've got to do is get the girls to commit to defense," Johnson said Sunday night after the Lady Blackhawks fell to 1-4 on the young season.

Cheney did collect its first win of the 2015-2016 campaign, easily dispatching Northeast A League Deer Park 62-41 on Dec. 8, the first of a three-game home stand. But the Lady Blackhawks committed 30 turnovers in getting routed 70-31 by Idaho's Timberlake Dec. 11, and failed to get back on defense on several occasions as West Valley rallied in the fourth quarter for a 47-43 win in the Great Northern League opener for both teams Dec 12.

Against the Stags last Tuesday, the Lady Blackhawks played good defense. Where Johnson was most happy with their performance, however, was in the offensive category of assists.

Sixteen of Cheney's 23 baskets came directly off passes from a teammate, something Johnson said shows they are sharing the ball well.

"Those are things you can build on," he added.

Junior Kristie McGourin and sophomore Hannah Lemelin both turned in an all-around game for Cheney, with McGourin leading in scoring with 12 points to go with four assists and six steals while Lemelin had seven points, four assists and four steals. Brette Draper added 11 points with Haley Pemberton and Peyton Stark both chipping in eight. Cheney also shot 75 percent from the free throw line.

Friday's match up with unbeaten Timberlake was not as pretty. The Lady Blackhawks struggled against the Tigers' full court press, turning the ball over three consecutive possessions at one point that helped turn a 6-5 Cheney deficit into 17-5 Timberlake advantage.

Draper's basket – she accounted for seven of the team's nine first quarter points – pulled Cheney back within 10 at 17-7 before more turnovers helped Timberlake extend their lead to 23-9 at the end of the quarter, and they raced away from there for the win. Draper was high scorer for the Lady Blackhawks, all seven coming in the first quarter, with McGourin and Lemelin adding six each. Cheney committed 30 turnovers, many taking place at half or back court and leading directly to Tigers' lay ups.

Saturday in the league opener against the Eagles, Cheney took a slim 33-29 lead into the fourth quarter, only to have foul trouble and execution keep them out of the win column for the second time in five days. Both McGourin and Draper got into foul trouble and eventually fouled out in the final period as West Valley rallied for the win, icing the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

McGourin led Cheney in scoring with 12, with Hailee Huff adding seven and Draper six. Besides having two key players foul out, the Lady Blackhawks were also hurt by their inability to get to the foul line and lack of success once there.

Cheney shot 49 percent, 5 for 11, from the charity stripe including missing the front end of one-and-ones on several trips. West Valley, by contrast, was 15 for 20.

The Lady Blackhawks (1-4, 0-1) travel to Clarkston Thursday (Dec. 17) for their second GNL game before resuming their non-league schedule Dec. 21 with a trip to Idaho's Lakeland.

"There's no shortage of things to work on," Johnson said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].