Looking at the layup lines before Friday night's game between the Calvary Lutheran Lady Lions and the Jamestown Lady Eagles, it appeared as if one team was likely to get a bunch of its points in the paint.
One did, but not the one you might have thought.
The undersized Lady Eagles got 19 of their 23 baskets in the paint and rolled to a 52-30 victory to spoil Calvary's Homecoming game.
Jamestown got eight of those baskets thanks to runouts after steals from their full-court press, and rode its defense to the win.
"We've been struggling for the last two weeks," Jamestown coach E.H. Hirschvogel said. "We've been right there in a lot of games and just couldn't get over the hump. I think our defense was what keyed us."
The defense was great all night, holding Calvary to just 14-of-58 shooting (24 percent). But it was especially good to start the second half.
The Lady Eagles went into the locker room with a healthy 26-13 lead, and then put the game out of reach in the first seven minutes of the third quarter by going ahead 40-15. During that time, Jamestown went 7-of-10 from the field with just one turnover, while Calvary was 1-of-11 shooting with four turnovers.
"We were not as patient as we should have been on offense and their press hurt us," Calvary coach Jonathan Kueck said. "The first quarter we did fine, but we just couldn't continue to handle it."
The Lady Eagles ended up outscoring the Lady Lions 14-4 in the third to lead 40-17. While the teams played to a standstill in the fourth, Calvary holding a slim 13-12 lead in scoring, the game was already decided.
"We had girls diving on loose balls, blocking out, it was really great to see the intensity," Hirschvogel said. "Look at the height differential - we average 5-3 on my team, and these girls battle like they're 5-6 and 5-7. We have to every night, because it seems like everybody has a 6-foot girl out there. The heart is absolutely something we praise our girls for all the time."
After shooting just 33 percent in the first quarter, which ended with Jamestown ahead 11-6, the Lady Eagles made 18-of-32 shots (56 percent) during the final three periods.
"One thing we really focused on tonight was ball movement," Hirschvogel said. "I thought we moved the ball great tonight. We really shared the ball and everybody got a piece of it."
It showed, as the Lady Eagles played just six players until subbing late in the game, and all six scored. Alli Mury led Jamestown (7-7) with a game-high 24 points, while Robyn Eschenbrenner added 13.
"The third and the fourth quarter they got some easy shots - laypus were killing us," Kueck said. "... It was just good ball movement. Even though they don't have the height, they can play ball. They can move the ball quickly up and down the court."
Brooke Rollins was the only player to score in double figures for Calvary (5-8), as she had 10 points. Sam Gunn ripped down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Lady Lions.