Demon girls find offensive groove

In a pair of games over the weekend, the results couldn?t have been more different for the Washington girls? basketball team.

The Demons struggled from the floor, shooting 20 percent in a 54-33 loss on Friday night against Ottumwa, but turned things around on Saturday, scoring a season-high 57 points in a victory over Oskaloosa.

The 1-1 weekend moves Washington to 4-8 on the season.

?We?ve got some girls who can shoot the ball, as Saturday night showed,? Demon girls? basketball head coach Jay Zieglowsky said. ?We get after them in practice for not shooting what we think is a good game shot, and we are trying to teach them what a good shot is.?

The Demons started off right on pace with Ottumwa on Friday night, until a dry spell hit in the late first quarter until halftime.

The Demons scored two second-quarter points in the game, as Ottumwa picked up a 30-13 lead at halftime, and didn?t allow the Demons back into the game.

After the second quarter, Ottumwa only outscored the Demons by four points.

?That 11-minute span really cost us, because we were neck-and-neck with them in the second half,? Zieglowsky said. ?We handled the press better in the second half, but we just had that 11-minute spell there that we did not make some good choices. We had a few turnovers and ill-advised shots and the ball wasn?t falling in the hole.?

On Saturday, the Demons started off fast, with senior Amber Salow hitting four first-half 3-pointers to help propel the Demons to a 20-point first quarter.

?We needed a game like that,? Zieglowsky said. ?We came out of the gate and shot the ball really well. Amber Salow came out and hit four 3-pointers in the first half and had five for the game. That really got us going, and when your offense is clicking, your energy is high and your defense plays a little better.?

Salow finished the night with a career-high 20 points, while junior Addie Pacha picked up 15 points and 12 rebounds as she keeps improving on the season.

?Addie has been getting better as the season goes,? Zieglowsky said, ?week-by-week, game-by-game, and she?s developing a nice jumpshot. When you have a 5-foot-11 girl, who?s a lefty, and has a jump shot, that?s pretty good. She?s really worked at working on the block and our guards have done a nice job of finding her on the block.?

Washington will host Muscatine on Tuesday night as it looks for its first back-to-back wins of the season.