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Baldwin’s Chloe Neufeld drives to the basket against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
Just as Baldwin Bulldogs girls’ head coach Kara Roland had hoped for, the outcome of her squad’s season opening victory was never in doubt.
Three-pointers were raining from the opening possession as host Baldwin routed conference foe Paola Panthers, 61-27 Friday night.
“We really stressed playing well from start to finish and not being sped up and having first game jitters,” Roland said.
Bookended by Shea Griffith 3-pointers, the Bulldogs opened the contest on a 12-2 run and led 17-5 at the conclusion of the opening frame.
“That first three gets you in such a good mindspace and also gets everyone pumped up,” Griffin, a junior point guard said.
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Baldwin’s Cami Collum drives to the basket against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
Low-post scoring from Paola forward Stevey Bassett closed the gap to 18-9 early in the second quarter, but that’s as close as the Panthers would get the remainder of the way.
From there, the Bulldogs used an extended 17-2 run to open up a 24-point advantage. During the run, Griffin drained her third triple of the contest, followed by Chloe Neufeld’s bank-in 3 from the top of the key.
The offensive flurry was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Griffin and senior guard Chloe Neufeld. Junior Audrey Searl drilled the Bulldogs’ sixth 3-pointer of the half, followed by sophomore Cami Collum’s baseline drive and lay-in to hand Baldwin a commanding 37-13 halftime advantage.
“We look to play fast and get layups,” Roland said. “Or kick out and be ready to shoot with confidence.”
The Bulldogs kept the pedal to the metal in the second half, opening the third quarter on 6-0 spurt. Collum ended the third with a driving lay-in, and then knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to open the fourth, swelling the Bulldogs lead to 53-20.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season,” Roland said. “We made minimal mistakes tonight.”
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Baldwin’s Shea Griffith dribbles up the court against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
Baldwin assistant coach Chad Scoby lauded the Bulldogs balanced scoring attack. He was particularly pleased that the team received offensive contributions from players who lacked varsity experience entering the game. The Bulldogs returned three varsity starters from a team that advanced to the sub-state title game a season ago, finishing 14-8.
“We got everybody involved and that’s what we need to see”, he said.
… “Our girls are kind of interchangeable. We don’t have a 6-footer — we [mainly] go 5-2 to 5-5 — so it’s like, ‘just go play.’”
Perhaps no other player exemplifies an interchangeable part quite like Searl. Despite describing herself as a combo guard, Searl spent much of the evening operating from the low post.
“I spent my freshman and sophomore seasons as a guard, but I play wherever the team needs me,” she said. “And we need that inside presence right now.”
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Baldwin’s Audrey Searl goes up for a shot with multiple defenders surrounding her during a girls basketball game against Paola on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
As for the team’s performance, Searl said the Bulldogs aced their first test.
‘Our ball movement was good and we played great defense,” she said. “We executed well and really showed what we worked on in practice all week.”
Collum paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 14 points. Griffin and Searl chipped in 12 apiece, while Neufeld finished with 10.
The Bulldogs square off with the Chanute Blue Comets in a road clash on Tuesday. Chanute (2-0) has opened its season with blowout victories over Humboldt and Winfield.
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Baldwin’s Carson Chambers goes up for a shot against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
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Baldwin’s Emme Nigh shoots a finger-roll layup against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Baldwin’s Logyn Scoby let’s out a roar while head coach Kara Roland braces her following a big play for the Bulldogs against Paola during a girls basketball game on Dec. 5 at Baldwin Junior High School.
