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Smith, Odell lead Dunkirk to 101-35 blowout of Tapestry in season opener

Marauders tip-off season

Dunkirk’s Olivia Smith (15) looks to pass down low during Thursday’s season-opening non-league girls basketball game against Tapestry in Dunkirk. The Dunkirk Lady Marauders came out on top with a 101-35 win. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

Most teams schedule an early non-league basketball game to try and find their rhythm for the regular season. On Thursday night, the Dunkirk Lady Marauders (1-0) looked like they were in midseason form in their game against Tapestry. Dunkirk came out fast and ready to play as they powered their way to an impressive 101-35 victory to start the season.

Dunkirk got the scoring going right off the tip-off as Nadara Odell won it to Jessica Beehler and Beehler quickly found Kymi Nance for two. After the quick bucket, Dunkirk stayed right in Tapestry’s face as they implemented a very aggressive full court press with all five Lady Marauders covering their girl.

“This is a system that we ran back in Jamestown for a while, its a high pressure, always try to pressure them, make them play faster than they practice,” said Dunkirk head coach Ken Ricker. “The first quarter we were really good at going after offensive rebounds and attacking the glass, we didnt really shoot it well from the line or from the field. But we kept going after it.”

Even with the press working, Tapestry managed to take an early lead due to a slow start offensively for Dunkirk. Dunkirk dominated the offensive boards, but was unable to capitalize on the second shots or at the free throw line — which they frequented early. It wasn’t until about halfway through the first quarter that the Lady Marauders found their offensive footing.

Before you could blink a 7-4 deficit was turned into a 15-7 lead. The full court press continued to be an issue for Tapestry as they struggled to connect on inbound passes and it clearly brought frustration as the Lady Thunderhawks found themselves in foul trouble. Dunkirk ended the first quarter on an Octavia Porter rebound and finish to go up 18-7.

Dunkirk’s Nadara Odell looks to pass during Thursday’s non-league girls basketball game against Tapestry at Dunkirk High School. OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot.

“They got in such foul trouble in that first quarter because we were on the glass. Because we were getting put backs and I thought that was the key to beginning of the game,” stated Ricker.

In the second quarter the Lady Marauders continued the full court press and it paid dividends as the lead piled up. Dunkirk reached 30 points before Tapestry even had double-digits on an Olivia Smith 3-pointer from downtown. It wasn’t until 2:48 remained in the second quarter that Tapesty reached 10 points, but they still trailed 38-10. At half it was Dunkirk on top 49-16.

To start the second half, Dunkirk switched up its defense and allowed Tapestry to carry down-court. The defensive change didn’t slow the Lady Marauder defense any as they continued to make big plays and score in transition. Beehler continued to find easy assists to her teammates in transition. By the end of the game Beehler had 13 assists, four steals and nine deflections along with her nine points.

In the second half, Smith started to heat up from beyond the arc as she drained 3-pointer after 3-pointer. In the fourth quarter Smith hit a couple in a row from downtown and finished nine 3-pointers and 29 total points.

“Olivia Smith is one of the best shooters that I have ever seen, so we knew she was going to make shots,” added Ricker. “She has great confidence and we have tried to instill that in her since the day that I took the job. We call it simple math, three is worth more than two. She is a very good shooter — she knows that and I wasn’t worried about… I think she missed seven or eight in a row and we could care less because then she makes four in a row.”

Even with a 50 point lead headed into the fourth quarter, 74-24, the Lady Marauders continued pour it on offensively. The whole team contributed in the fourth quarter as they outscored Tapestry 27-11 on the way to a huge 101-35 victory.

“A hundred points is great and we want to play that style,” said Ricker. “There are going to be days that we shoot it a lot better. The number doesn’t matter it’s the pace, the key to everything is pace — play fast.”

The Lady Marauders were led offensively by Smith with 29 points and four assists, Odell finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and five steals, Amari Carter added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

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