Meadow Heights GBB withstands furious Woodland rally

PATTON – Nearly two months ago, the Woodland High School girl’s basketball team unleashed an effective triangle-and-two defense in its game against Meadow Heights, and first-year Panther coach Tim Winkler fell on the proverbial sword in recalling his team’s 44-30 loss to the Cardinals in the Chaffee Invitational in December.

“We weren’t ready for that,” Winkler said on Monday after facing Woodland again, “and that was on me.”

His team was ready for any defense that the Cardinals threw at the Panthers, which included 16 minutes of full-court pressure in the second half, and Meadow Heights came away with a thrilling 51-48 victory.

“We were able to score in good spots on the floor,” Winkler said of Monday’s game, “and get them out of that.”

Meadow Heights also ran roughshod over Woodland in the second quarter, which forced Cardinal coach Paul Lynch’s hand defensively.

Trailing 11-10 early in the second half, Panther senior center Rachael Hellebusch proved too much for the Cardinal defense.

The 5-foot-11 athlete had scored eight points in the opening period, and added 10 more in the second quarter, as her team built a 31-18 margin by halftime.

“We were able to handle (the triangle-and-two) well,” Winkler said. “When they went straight zone, we really handled it well, and that was in the second quarter.”

Woodland had no choice following halftime but to pressure its way back into the game, and it worked, eventually.

The Cardinals (14-8) still trailed by double digits (42-32) early in the final period but trimmed their margin to a mere one point when junior shooter Mallary Barks canned a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining in the game for a 49-48 Panther margin.

“I tried to use timeouts and told (the players) to calm down,” Winkler said of the furious Woodland rally.

Meadow Heights utilized just eight players, and with starters Cheyenne Tonjum and Jaycee Shelton on the bench having fouled out, Winkler and his group were just trying to hang on in the final seconds.

The Panthers missed a couple of free throws with 17 seconds on the clock but were able to get the team rebound. With just four seconds remaining in the game and leading by one, the Cardinals couldn’t foul the ball quickly enough, and Hellebusch found teammate Maddie Denman cutting along the baseline for the game-sealing lay-in.

“Our bench came through tonight,” Winkler said, “and did a lot of good things.”

Hellebusch, who was recognized prior to the game for having recently scored her 1,000th career point, tallied 32 points to pace all scorers.

“She is very basketball smart,” Winkler said of Hellebusch. “She has a good basketball IQ and she is relentless when she gets the ball around the basket.”

Denman added seven points in the win while Shelton had six points.

Barks and Woodland freshman Addie Massa each had 15 points while Cardinal junior Tallie Johnson finished with nine points.

Woodland will visit Class 1 No. 3-ranked Delta (18-1) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Meadow Heights will travel to Perryville (14-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.