4-0 start gives way to eight-day layoff

Talk about it

When developing the schedule for the Rosemount girls basketball team, coaches and administration built in an early break for the Irish.

Rosemount had a heavy early schedule, which included the Hamline tournament, but after four games in the span of seven days, there was an eight-day period between games.

It’s a strategy Irish coach Sam McDonald likes to employ.

“We schedule it this way,” McDonald said. “We get four games in before the second week of the season. So it’s kind of nice to get a night off. We get to take a look at other teams. We get to see where we are. It gives us some time to get our bearings before the Tuesday, Friday, sometimes Saturday routine starts. It’s tough to get a measuring stick on anything when you are flying along.”

So, Rosemount took its chance early, when it could afford the time for reflection. Of course, it’s enjoyable for the Irish as they reflect on a perfect start.

Rosemount traveled to Rochester last week and beat Mayo, 70-53, to open its season 4-0.

“We took some time off for the kids to ponder where they are at,” McDonald said. “We’re working on some offensive sets. We tweaked some defensive things. More than anything, we continue to keep working on our conditioning.”

Conditioning didn’t seem to be a problem against Rochester Mayo.

The Irish jumped out to an early lead before Mayo climbed to within 28-26 at halftime. From there, Rosemount was able to pull away, due much to the team’s depth.

“Overall it was a very good team game with our press,” McDonald said. “It was kind of what we were looking for and expecting out of that.

The depth is a focus for McDonald.

“It’s certainly one of the pieces we’re going to need,” he said. “I feel real good about the skills sets in some positions, but overall we’re going into the Lake Conference with a lack of height. We’ll have to play full court and you can’t do that with just five or six people. We will need to go eight or nine deep a night, not all equally, but certainly contributing.”

Several players continue to contribute offensively.

Three players average in double-figures, and each was active against Rochester Mayo.

Elaine Warner had 19 points to go with six rebounds and four steals.

Sara Feeser scored 16 points and Rachel Hoeppner added 14 points.

Micaella Petrich had seven points and eight assists.

“I think our numbers on the bench and our depth made a big difference in the second half,” McDonald said. “We continued to press and we were able to pull away comfortably at the end.”

The Irish travel to Richfield tonight. Five more games remain before the holiday break, with the Lake Conference season beginning in early January.

“We have a few more games here before the break,” McDonald said. “Hopefully we can keep going with this nice little run. Richfield is a good basketball team. It will give us a chance to see where we are at.”

Tags: girls basketball, sports