Cheyenne Central senior Madisyn Baillie, right, drives to the basket against Riverton senior McAye Fegler (10) during the James Johnson Winter Classic on Thursday at the Central Fieldhouse in Cheyenne.
Cheyenne Central senior Madisyn Baillie, right, drives to the basket against Riverton senior McAye Fegler (10) during the James Johnson Winter Classic on Thursday at the Central Fieldhouse in Cheyenne.
CHEYENNE — Cheyenne Central put together a dominant defensive performance against Riverton in its first game of the James Johnson Winter Classic on Thursday night.
Behind the back of a defense that forced 28 turnovers, the Indians cruised to a 57-41 victory.
“It was good,” Central coach Glenn Kirkbride said. “We did have some lulls. Coming off the Christmas break is hard. I am really proud of the kids to fight through those lulls.”
Riverton got on the board 3-0 to start the game. That was the only time it led. Central put together a 17-6 run fueled by seven points from senior Madisyn Baillie.
Central’s defense also locked down in the quarter and caused havoc for the Riverton offense. The Indians started running a three-quarter court pressure defense, which helped force the Wolverines into six first-quarter turnovers.
That defensive pressure helped set the tone for Central for the rest of the game. While the offense had its worst quarter of the game, putting up just nine points in the second, the defense continued to wreak havoc on Riverton. They Indians contested almost every shot, forced eight more turnovers in the game and allowed just seven points to give the team a 26-16 lead heading into the break.
Both sides of the ball kept their feet on the gas throughout the third quarter, and Central put together its best effort of the game. The offense was led by six points each from Baillie, Karson Tempel and Izzy Kelly. The defense, which had forced 14 turnovers to that point, forced 10 turnovers in the quarter.
The defense got into some foul trouble in the final frame, but continued to lock down. While the Indians only forced four turnovers, they held Riverton to just six points in the final frame, four of which came from the free-throw line.
The defensive effort had a secondary effect for the Indians. Aside from keeping the ball out of Riverton’s hands, it allowed them to generate multiple fast-break opportunities and easy lay ups the other way.
“Our defense has to drive our offense,” Kirkbride said. “For us to be able to dabble in a couple of presses and turn them over has been absolutely huge to our success.”
The Indians were able to get into the paint with ease, scoring most of their baskets from within five feet or less. This was partly due to their height down low, which gave Riverton fits throughout the game.
“They weren’t very tall, so we were able to get into the paint tonight,” Baillie said. “We like to play fast, so a lot of our points (tend to) come from in the paint.”
CENTRAL 57, RIVERTON 31
Cheyenne Central...... 17;9;15;16;—;57
Riverton...... 9;7;9;6;—;31
Cheyenne Central: Baillie 16, Gerig 4, m. Kirkbride 3, Gilad 2, Kar. Tempel 10, Wade 10, Barrett 2, Kelly 6, Newton 4.
Riverton: Bradley 0, Felger 8, Engstrom 3, Jackson 16, Johnson 2, Morton 2.
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MattAtencio5.
