Looking at area girls basketball midseason standings

With area girls? basketball teams taking time off for the holiday this week, it?s time to take a look and see how well they have done so far this season.

For Washington, the girls are ending the month of December with a 1-6 record. Coach Jordan Bentley says going into the second half it should be easier for the girls.

?I think we have a lot more winnable games the second half of the season. We played a lot of our ranked opponents the first half. We have to face Keokuk twice after Christmas, which isn?t ideal.

?The second half of the season may be a little easier for us but we still have to clean some things up offensively and defensively. We are making progress.?

The girls are shooting at 54 percent from the free-throw line, making 58 out of 107 shots. Bentley says, ?we have to figure out ways to get to the free-throw line more even though I would like to see our shooting get better overall.

?The only way we can get to the line more is to attack the basket, realize when we have lanes to the basket and how to attack the basket under control rather than just run into someone and expect a foul. No official will give us a call like that unless we are under control.?

The team is doing well with their 3-point shots. They have made 34 out of 104 or 32.7 percent.

?That percentage is really good for where we are in the season,? Bentley says. ?We had the capabilities to shoot better our last four games, I know we can do it.?

Will he work on that over the break? ?Not necessarily. It?s finding that next-pass mentality of getting the higher percentage shot.

?Yes, that might have been a good 3-point shot, but an uncontested 3 might have been better than the one we shot contested. It?s getting the girls to understand how to find that next-pass mentality.?

The overall number of fouls the team has had is extremely high, Bentley notes, at 138. ?It?s not good with the amount we are putting teams at the line.

?If we average giving up 25 free throws a game, that?s 25 chances of where the other team can score on us without us playing defense.

?That will slowly add up over time. We need to move our feet better and play smarter in situations and getting back on defense.?

The only way to work on getting those numbers lower is by working on their defense Bentley says.

?We need to have a mindset that the ball is important. We have to get more aggressive in taking care of the basketball.?

Heading into the next part of the season, Bentley says the team is slowly making progress. ?We will start us playing together more.

?We will understand how each other works. We are making those strides right now.?

One thing Bentley is doing is not to focus too much ahead. ?I look at each game one at a time. We look at the positives from the previous game and wonder how we can grow from those good things. We are always finding something positive, win or lose.?

Currently the girls are averaging 38.3 points per game, have made 34 out of 104 shots from the 3-point mark and are 54 percent successful from the charity stripe. The first game for the girls after the break is Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Fort Madison.

For Highland, it?s been nothing but marks in the win column so far as they are 8-0 as they move forward into the month of January.

Coach Jody Fink says, ?It feels good. This is the best start in a Highland girls? basketball season. I am proud of what the girls have accomplished so far.

The driving force for Highland is the same as Washington?s: take each game one at a time.

?The one game at a time may seem cliché, but I know that has been our philosophy. Don?t take anyone for granted and don?t look past anyone.

Focusing on each game individually has been one of the secrets to winning all season long.

?We also focus on staying positive throughout the games and try to continually give positive feedback when possible,? Fink says.

The only bad part of the season Fink has seen has been fouls.

?We have been fouling way too much and silly fouls of impatience and frustration. The girls need to relax and think that sometimes we have to lay back to live and play another play.

?It isn?t what you always want to do, but sometimes to keep in the game you need to.?

Going into January no one can predict what will happen, but Fink says continuing on a winning streak will be a challenge.

?I hope they do, but we have a lot of tough games coming up on the road and at home.

?Then you have to keep in mind the opportunities of illness or other distractions that can hit you broadside. It is a next girl in mentality and they all have to be ready and prepared to go in when called upon.

?The second half is going to be a battle each and every night. We have to be prepared and ready to go at all times.

?The second time around the conference is tough but that is what makes things fun on the coaching end, yet frustrating at the same time.

?It should be enjoyable, but we will have to wait and see what the new year brings us.?

Highland has averaged 55.5 points per game so far this season, going 85-133 from the free-throw line and are 36.6 percent successful in making shot from outside the arc.

The Huskies first game in January is Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Wapello beginning at 6 p.m.

?We plan to work on getting better,? says Columbus coach Kasey Keltner about the mid-season break.

?That will mean we work on ball handling, shooting, getting in a good stance, proper footwork, and boxing-out. These are things we focus on throughout the season.?

The Columbus girls are 5-4 so far this season with two players scoring more than 100 points each. That effort is recognized, too.

?My group of kids is pretty self-motivated,? Keltner says. ?We focus on getting better each day as individuals to help our team get better.

?Hopefully we have some good competition over the break to prepare us for the second half of the season.?

Looking into the next month Keltner says it?s not going to be easy.

?I think we play a very competitive schedule so wins are tough to come by. We need to improve each day and play well in each game for us to see more success.?

As for the team as a whole, things are great. ?I see overall improvement throughout our program.

?Our seniors are playing bigger roles for us. Our juniors are better. Our sophomores are learning that they can contribute for us.?

The Columbus girls play at Lone Tree Tuesday, Jan. 3, beginning at 6 p.m.

In other area team action, Mid-Prairie is 5-3 at the break. They are averaging 48.6 points per game, have made 89 of 151 from the free-throw line or 58.9 percent and have been successful in shooting from outside the arc 20.6 percent of the time.

The Golden Hawks take to the court Thursday, Jan. 5, at Mediapolis beginning at 6 p.m.

Keota is sitting at 0-9 so far this season. They have only averaged 19.6 points per game, made 42 percent of their free throws and made 17 out of 70 3-point shots.

?We have been on a long learning curve so far this season,? said coach Jeff Sprouse.

?We knew there would be some long nights, but as long as we have improvement each and every time out we are on the right track. We have to continue to lay the foundation.?

Despite the losing record, the team focus has been great. ?They realize that we are not going to fix everything at once,? Sprouse said.  ?Having three sets of sisters, really helps the rapport within the team.

?Even though we are low on numbers, they really look out for each other rather than looking out for themselves.

?It would be very easy to ?get mine? each night but they have done an outstanding job of not getting too low, trying to stay even keel.?

There are also positives about the first half of the season. ?We have made some great improvement in many areas.

?We have cut down on our turnovers, we have really rebounded well (especially for our lack of size) and we are getting to the free-throw line more. We do have many other items that we will work to improve in the next month and half.?

The girls will work on those improvements while facing a tough schedule heading into January. ?Our schedule does us no favors in the first couple of weeks,? Sprouse said.

?We cannot worry about who or where we play. We can only focus on controlling what we can control. We need to work to hit our goals and then let the chips fall where they may.

?Who knows what the last half of the season will bring; all I can tell you is that our ?attitude and effort?will be there each and every day.?

Sprouse adds about the team as a whole, ?I am very proud of our team, especially with low numbers, how they keep coming back each day. They all want to get better and really are buying into our rebuilding project.?

The Eagles next play against North Mahaska Tuesday, Jan. 3, at home starting at 6 p.m.

The IMS girls are also winless so far this season, sitting at 0-7. They have averaged 33.6 points per game, made 13 of 63 from outside the 3-point arc and made 48.8 percent of their free throws.

They play next at Pekin Tuesday, Jan. 3, starting at 6 p.m.

WACO has a 2-7 record as they get ready to start the month of January. Their first game is Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Cardinal with tip-off set for 6 p.m.