Turnover-causing Glenville routs Shepherd by 72 points
Bob Madison For the Chronicle
Wave after wave of fresh Glenville faces literally pressured Shepherd into backcourt turnovers that led to scads of close-in baskets, layups and open three-point shots. The result of the platoon-system women’s basketball was a 133-61 win by the Pioneers, who left the Butcher Center still unbeaten in conference play after displaying an overall team quickness that steadily drained away Shepherd’s confidence.
The Pioneers didn’t score fewer than 31 points in any of the game’s four quarters.
Shepherd had 35 turnovers, was outrebounded 47-35 and never uncovered any remedies for the all-out pressure it faced throughout.
Glenville often substituted five fresh players at one-minute intervals. Each new group would work its pressure-induced, turnover-causing tactics for only a minute . . . and then give way to another fivesome that replicated the same high-scoring formula.
Shepherd could never break the strangling grip its ballhandlers continually faced.
The Pioneers settled for a 36-17 lead after one quarter after assuming a 28-10 lead.
The difference had been escalated to 67-31 by halftime.
What do you do when trailing by more points than you’ve scored?
Glenville was finding so many high-percentage shots that it had converted 61 percent of its first-half field goal attempts.
Paris McLeod, easily the game’s quickest player, was the ringleader of the Glenville thievery and paced the statistical Pioneers with 25 points, four assists, three steals and eight rebounds.
When the fast-moving scoreboard had blinked its last Glenville points, the Pioneers had made 51 of 89 shots, including 15 of 35 three-point tries. There were 12 players who logged at least 10 minutes of playing time and none had been on the court for more than 20 minutes.
The Pioneers grabbed a 98-44 lead after three quarters of play.
The loss was Shepherd’s fourth straight after it began the season with a 4-0 record.
Senior guard Morgan Arden scored 22 of Shepherd’s 61 points and moved into second-place on the school’s all-time list of scorers with just over 1,500 points.
Glenville had seven scorers in double figures, nine players with steals, nine with assists and 12 with rebounds.
Quickness, tenacity and attention to team defense were on display to the tune of 133 points.