Girls basketball: Polo falls to state-ranked Orangeville in Class 1A Polo Sectional semifinal

POLO – The Polo Marcos never quite found their groove Tuesday night against the Orangeville Broncos.

After falling behind by eight points in the first quarter, their deficit continued to deepen. In the second half, they drew no closer than 14 points, and by the end, they fell 55-27, ending their season on their homecourt in the Class 1A Polo Sectional semifinal.

[ Orangeville vs. Polo girls basketball photo gallery ]

“I’m super proud,” Polo senior Lindee Poper said. “The beginning of the season was a little rough – we had a lot of ups and downs, but we came together and it was a blast.”

“I count it as a success. We started off very slow,” Polo coach Jason Grobe said. “We had some injuries early on. I think from Christmas on we were about 13-4, so we got healthy and got right at the correct time. So I’m very proud of the girls. It was a great season overall.”

Orangeville (28-4) opened the game on a 6-0 run in the first four minutes, capitalizing on three Polo turnovers with an Addy Wheeler left-corner 2, a Whitney Sullivan running jump hook, and a Laney Cahoon right-corner 2.

A Poper free throw and Camrynn Jones layup drew the Marcos (18-12) within 8-3 in the final minute, but Cahoon hit a right-corner 3 with 6 seconds left, giving the Broncos an 11-3 lead after the first quarter.

“I think we kind of lost confidence in ourselves, and we weren’t taking the open shots that we normally do,” Poper said of the slow start. “We just weren’t playing our basketball.”

With a 15-7 second-quarter run, Orangeville seized firm control of the game.

Sullivan scored nine points to lead the surge, opening the quarter with a putback for a 10-point lead, then she hit the second of two free throws, before posting up for a layup, getting another putback, and scoring on the fast break after a Nadalee Doyle steal and assist. Cahoon got another layup to fall with 22.7 seconds left, then a Poper putback made it a 26-10 game just before halftime.

The Broncos assisted on nine of 12 first-half field goals, grabbed seven offensive rebounds and forced 10 turnovers before the break – including seven in the first quarter.

“They’re probably the best team we’ve faced all year. They’re tough,” Grobe said. “We knew No. 5 [Sullivan] was going to get hers, and we were going to try to keep everyone else from getting theirs, but they were just too much. They’re a good team.”

By utilizing Sullivan in short spurts at point guard, Orangeville was able to create some mismatches – and get open looks.

“[Coach] Jay [Doyle] does what he has to do,” Sullivan said. “He tells me when I need to be point, because then they switch the small guard out on me, and then I can just pass out or take it to the hoop instead of having the big on me.”

A Sydnei Rahn mid-range jumper pulled Polo within 31-17 with 5:25 to go in the third, but Sullivan hit a left-wing 3 with four seconds left, making it 34-17 Orangeville ahead of the final quarter.

“Don’t let up. We gotta keep going,” Sullivan said about her team’s mentality entering the second half. “Just because we’re up by so much, it doesn’t mean we can let up and play to their level. We gotta stay at our level.”

Doyle and Cahoon scored back-to-back layups in the first 1:30 of the fourth quarter for a 38-17 lead, and Leah Baker completed a three-point play to stretch it to 44-20 with 5:30 to go. Both teams brought in theirs subs in the final minutes.

Poper totaled 10 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks; Jones tallied 12 points, two steals and a block; Rahn chipped in three points, four rebounds and two steals; and Courtney Grobe added two points and four rebounds for the Marcos.

Sullivan paced the Broncos with 23 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block; Cahoon chipped in 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals; and Baker added six points, three rebounds and three assists.