Still struggling Miller girls fall to Pirates

By Maren Fawkes
For the Beacon

Closing out the first round of the season the Millers lose their fifth game to the Marshfield Pirates, 29-45. Despite the loss varsity girls coach, Chuck Wenger is confident his team will “get their feet under them.”
Coming into the match-up the girls were hoping to end their four game slide in Midwestern League games. The game started off quick and sloppy for both teams with bad passing that was the cause of careless turnovers. The Miller’s were able to capitalize on the multiple possessions by taking a four point lead following four steals by Samantha Stoner in the first two minutes.
Unable to build momentum, the Millers continued into the second quarter struggling to sink shots. Stoner had numerous steals and rebounds that kept the game from getting out of reach. She had good instinct toward the basket and was able to draw off defenders and get the foul. The Pirates were off to a quick lead as the Miller’s trailed behind.
Thwarting Springfields attempts to catch up, Marshfield’s leading scorer Brianna George had the Miller’s defense on their heels with her ball fakes and smart passing. The Pirates held a four point lead going into half time.
The Miller’s seemed sluggish at the beginning of the second half, while the Pirates came out shooting and moving the ball around. They pushed their lead into the double digits by hitting open high percentage shots.
Once Marshfield had established a comfortable lead towards the end of the third quarter, they moved away from a run-and-gun offensive style to a clock management style. It seemed like the Miller’s felt the pressure of the ticking clock making a few mental mistakes and sending the Pirates to the line too often.
The game was hard fought on both ends of the court, but with the Miller’s struggling to sink shots they were just unable to match the Pirates intensity.
“I’m actually really proud of the girls,” Chuck Wenger said. “I can’t say enough for some of the girls who are working really hard to come together as a team. The big thing is we’ve got to start shooting better. The girls need to have confidence in their shots because just getting the shots to go down can change the whole season.”
Wenger is optimistic about the future. “We know we have two rounds left and we’re just going to take it four minutes at a time.”
The next game for the Miller’s was at home against Willamette on Tuesday Jan. 22. Results of that game were unavailable as of press time.
“Willamette is always a challenge. They haven’t lost a game, at least not in the Midwestern League... The last time we played well against them, but for us it’s about getting the girls’ confidence back.”