Grizzlies Outmaneuvered In Regular Season Finale

The Grace Grizzlies finished their regular season schedule with a road trip to Butte County on a very snowy night last Thursday.  To just make it to the game the team left an hour early and had to fight a blizzard the whole way there.  The Grizzlies would soon find out that the snowy conditions outside were not the only onslaught they would face that night.

Despite having finished the season with a relatively slow schedule which should have given Grace plenty of time to prepare for their district rivals when the Grizzlies took to the court they looked less like ferocious bears and more like fish out of water.  Early in the game the quick Pirate team exploited one of the weaknesses of the Grizzlies by applying a full court press.  Grace struggled for several possessions to get the ball even to the halfcourt line.  It wasn't until Grace finally used a timeout and reassessed their strategy that the Grizzlies were able to break the press and earn a few layups.  Even with the change in strategy the Grizzlies found themselves trailing big at the end of the first quarter with the score being twenty to seven.  After weathering the first quarter storm the Grizzlies settled in and tried their best to claw their way back into the game.  Senior Jamie Smith came off of the bench and put up eleven points in the period to help Grace get back to within five points at the halftime break.  Coming out of the locker room for the second half of play Grace once again changed strategies.  The Grizzlies switched to a man defense rather than staying with their very effective zone.  The quickness of the Pirates and the lack of discipline from the Grizzlies saw the score once again climb to double digits.  Foul shots would help the Grizzlies stay somewhat close but the third quarter would end with Grace now trailing by eleven.  The Grizzlies attempted to turn up the aggression in the fourth quarter but the Pirates would make them pay at the charity stripe.  Butte County would shoot fifteen fourth quarter foul shots and make nine of them while continuing to exploit the Grace defense by driving to the basket and kicking the ball out for three point shots or going to the line.  Grace attempted to answer by throwing up some desperation three point shots of their own but in the end the Pirates ran away with the victory winning by an astounding twenty points.  The Pirates were able to score seventy-five points in the game which is the most points the Grizzlies have allowed all season with only one other team, 4A American Falls, scoring more than fifty six points on them.  Grace will need to find some answers for the press and perimeter defense if they want to qualify for the state tournament.

Grace began district tournament play on Tuesday night at Thunder Ridge High School where they faced Alturas Prep.  The Grizzlies should have won that game with ease advancing them to the semi finals against the Butte County team that just beat them.  That game will be Thursday night once again at Thunder Ridge High School.  The winner of that semifinal game will earn a huge advantage and a spot in the championship game.  The loser will play Alturas on Saturday.

Grizzlies 7 16 13 19 55

Pirates 20 8 19 28 75

D.Hill 4, J.Smith 13, B.Kimball 2, G.Draper 3, C.Smith 6, C.Reeves 4, P.Yost 13, B.Smith 8, L.Moss 2