The Arlington High School girls basketball team won the rebounding battle Monday night during its annual Jamboree exhibition game with Blair.
Ahead by six points during the third period, the Eagles — who went 21-5 last season — raced out to a 16-point road advantage built on second-chance points. They'd hold off a fourth-quarter BHS rally to win 60-51, but it was AHS' work pulling down boards that stood out.
“Rebounding is something we really focus on in practice,” coach Tashia Wolf said. “We understand the two things we have to do to win are rebound and limit our turnovers. Everything else will kind of come as it does.”
Arlington jump-started its third-quarter scoring run with senior Hailey O'Daniel at the foul line. The Eagle made her first attempt, but missed the second.
Fortunately for Wolf, AHS earned the rebound and capped a rare four-point possession with an Emme Timm 3-pointer.
The coach said her Eagles boxed out well against the Bears.
“We watched the ball drop and hit the ground before anybody got to it,” Wolf noted. “We're really using those fundamental skills to our advantage.”
Arlington's exhibition win wasn't necessarily one-sided, though. BHS was unfazed by the Eagles' double-digit lead, pulling within 52-47 during the fourth-quarter shortly after their own 10-0 run. Taytum Macholan and Kate Wuf both made their own 3s during the scoring streak, while freshman Cadence Field stole the ball and scored it at 50-44.
“The girls didn't give up,” Bears coach Matt Aschoff said.
Addie Sullivan led Blair with 24 points against AHS, while Wulf notched 10 and Macholan scored six.
The Eagles' Britt Nielsen scored 24 points, too, while Timm added 14. Hayley Arp and Macy Wolf scored nine apiece as well.
AHS chases postseason glory
AHS won 21 games last season and made a Class C1 district finals appearance.
Now, the Eagles want to build on that success together.
“This is a family,” Coach Wolf said. “We are doing this together. Not one person can do it by themselves.”
A goal for her team this season is to share the ball, taking advantage of the weapons it has offensively. Three starters are back, including Nielsen, Timm and Macy Wolf, but also eight letter winners.
Two non-starters from last winter to watch are Arp and Valeria Carvajal, who are helping to fill the shoes of the graduated Taylor Arp — Hayley's sister. Against Blair, the new pair inside did well.
“They really stepped into their role,” Coach Wolf said. “They knew tonight they needed to box out. They needed to rebound. They needed to play defense.”
She certainly felt Arp and Carvajal met those expectations.
“They understood their role, but realized their role wasn't going to limit them to 'that's all you can do,'” Wolf said. “Scoring was second nature then, which was fantastic.”
Arp's nine points were her evidence.
Now, with the Eagles' home opener looming, AHS is still working to get some of its players into action, including senior Libby Hegemann, who was injured last winter. Monday's exhibition, though, was a good sign for the future in the coach's eyes.
“There's such good things to build upon to get where it is — where we need to be at the end of the season,” Wolf said.
Arlington starts its build back to the postseason against West Point-Beemer next Thursday. The home game starts at approximately 6 p.m.
Blair relishes Arlington challenge
Coach Aschoff was happy to put his Blair Bears against such a tough opponent to start.
“We were so excited to play them because we knew how great of team they were going to be,” he said of Arlington, complimenting its coaching and players.
Aschoff felt an exhibition with the Eagles could be a building block for his squad.
“We can't just take it for granted that, “Oh, we're going to get better now,'” he explained. “But what an exciting opportunity to play such a really good team that we know is going to be really good.”
The coach, however, wasn't thrilled with the Bears' shot selection Monday — though it got better during the second half — or its execution of a new zone defense.
“This zone is meant to take away 3s and layups and that's all we gave up,” Aschoff explained. “So, we didn't do well.”
He left the nine-point loss excited, though.
“We know we can get better,” the coach said.
Altogether, BHS returns two starters and seven letter winners from last season's 11-13 output. Sullivan, a University of Nebraska-Kearney signee, is the most notable. In scoring 24 points Monday, the senior went 11-for-12 from the foul line against Arlington.
“Addie is doing awesome,” Aschoff said. “She came up to me and she has some lofty goals.”
The forward can make 3-pointers and score in transition, but her coach wants to keep getting her to the rim and the charity stripe. He knows Sullivan can handle it, too, with the amount of strength she's gained throughout her prep career.
“She's been great,” Aschoff said. “Sometimes kids don't know what it is to be that leader until they have to be, and she's done a great job and so has Hayden (Frink-Mathis).”
Both Sullivan and Frink-Mathis — alongside Claire Anderson, Wulf and Macholan — have extensive varsity experience, but several Bears who played in Monday's exhibition do not.
“We had a lot of girls playing that haven't played varsity before and we thought they stepped up well,” Aschoff said.
Two freshman, Field and Beau Wendt, contributed across several minutes of game time. Field, a point guard, scored four points, including two on the aforementioned steal-and-score play during the third quarter.
“She's athletic as heck,” Aschoff said. “That girl is quick.”
The Bear is likely to have an opportunity to show off her speed again Dec. 7 when BHS opens the season with a 1 p.m. home game against Ralston.
Jamboree Exhibition
ARLINGTON 60, BLAIR 51
AHS 14 16 15 15 — 60
BHS 9 10 12 20 — 51
Scoring: AHS — Britt Nielsen 24, Emme Timm 14, Hayley Arp 9, Macy Wolf 9, Hailey O'Daniel 3, Valeria Carvajal 1.
BHS — Addie Sullivan 24, Kate Wulf 10, Taytum Macholan 6, Cadence Field 4, Abby Leggott 2, Claire Anderson 2, Hayden Frink-Mathis 2, Kenzie Policky 1.
