By Jim Pruitt
Playing in front of one of the largest crowds they will likely see this year, the Chelsea girls varsity basketball team beat Tecumseh, 53-41, on Dec. 18.
The crowd was there for Champions Night 2015, but got to see coach Todd Blomquist’s team earn a gritty win. The lady Bulldogs are now 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the SEC White.
In fact, the girls basketball team was one of the squads honored during the special night. In the 2014-15 season, the Bulldogs won their second straight league crown and third straight district crown before falling in the regional finals.
“It was a good opportunity for us to play in front of a big crowd, which I thought was great.” Blomquist said comparing the turnout to a Dexter game.
The 2015-16 squad showed its mettle and let everyone know it has the skill to repeat.
Chelsea jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead thanks to a pair of 3s from senior Olivia McCalla, but then had to fend off a furious counterattack from Tecumseh that saw its lead dwindle to 17-16 midway through the second period.
“I liked how we came out and had a lot of energy early,” Blomquist said. “I wasn’t happy with how we played defensively in the first quarter, but I thought we made some good adjustments,” Bloomquist said. “We took control of the game and made them chase us.”
The Bulldogs turned a 25-21 halftime lead into a 35-25 lead after the third, before outscoring the Indians 18-16 in the final period.
While the team had several cold periods on offense, Bloomquist said that’s a normal part of the game.
But a determined defense stymied Tecumseh in the second half and kept them from getting closer than five points. The two teams got going offensively in the fourth period, but constantly Tecumseh trailed by double digits.
By the middle of the fourth quarter the game was pretty much over.
McKenzie Mykala had 14 points, Maddy Bell had 11 points with three treys and Maggie Cole had 10 points.
While his team has a way to go, Bloomquist has seen much improvement in squad.
“We are making strides every day,” he said.
Bloomquist credited Cole with feeding the team from her energy to get them going. He also praised McCalla for long-range shots early.
“But we kind of cooled off,” Blomquist said.
The Bulldogs had several chances at easy layups, but could not deliver the ball.
“We certainly need to get better finishing off a basket,” Blomquist said.
This was a game Blomquist felt his team needed to have, but overall their success will be measured by how well they do against Dexter. Last year, they split with the Dreads, and tied with them for the league crown.
Chelsea shot 35 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. They had six 3-pointers and were 13 of 19 from the free throw line. Chelsea finished with 24 rebounds.
Tecumseh connected on 43 percent of its shots, but only 16 percent from the 3-point line.
The Indians were a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
Chelsea
Jess Jacobusse 1 0-0 2, Maddy Bell 1 (3) 0-0 11, Nicole Bareis 3 0-0 6, McKenzie Mykala 2 (1) 7-11 14, Maggie Cole 3 4-6 10, Olivia McCalla 0 (2) 2-2 8, Katelyn McKinley 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 (6) 13-19 53
Score by quarters:
Tecumseh 14-7- 4- 16: 41
Chelsea 17- 8- 10-18: 53
