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Sports

PLAYOFFS: Lady Cyclones Top Island Trees in 1st Round, 42-33

Will face Sewanhaka at South Side tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

After playing a few less-than-stellar games to end the regular season, the No. 3 seeded Lady Cyclones got back to basics, suffocating No. 14 Island Trees with its defense and easily winning its opening round playoff matchup, 42-33.

Although South Side outrebounded Island Trees 33-23, the Lady Cyclones struggled to box out while in its zone defense, which was otherwise successful. South Side held the Bulldogs to 11 percent shooting from three-point range (4-for-37), and despite giving up offensive rebounds to Island Trees, the Lady Cyclones size in the paint ensured there were no easy buckets.

“We played a zone, and it’s hard to find a person in your area when they launch that many shots, and they were attacking the boards fast and hard,” South Side coach Katie Dunn said. “It was a good test for us, but they couldn’t match our size.”

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Island Trees coach Andy Schneider said he thought if a few more of his team's shots went through the net, the outcome could have been different. 

“We don’t play pretty, we play tough and aggressive and try to pressure and force the issue,” he said. “Normally more of our shots will fall and if they did, I think the finish could have been different.”

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The Lady Bulldogs kept South Side out of its half-court offense by using a high-pressure defense and increasing its pace on offense. The Lady Cyclones fell into the trap of playing at Island Tree's fast pace — normally they play a slowed-down half-court game—  which contributed to their 17 turnovers. 

“They did a good job preparing for us – they did a great job pressuring our guards, and we had to make a lot of adjustments,” Dunn said. “We knew they were going to be fast, but we didn’t expect them to press the whole game. We prefer to slow it down, most teams can’t match our side.”

One of the adjustments Dunn made was putting forward Megan Lonergan (15 points, six rebounds, five assists) at the point and having her bring the ball up court. The switch created opportunities inside for forwards Christina Merrifield and Lauren Lopresti —  who combined for 14 points and 13 rebounds — and on the outside for guard Caitlin Wallace, who had 10 points.

“Megan really played well today, and Caitlin Wallace stepped up big time,” Dunn said. “Lonergan kept battling at the basket and took the ball down the court for us, and Wallace drove to the basket a bit more than usual.”

South Side hopes to continue its playoff run Tuesday at home against Sewanhaka at 6:30 p.m., whom they’ve already beaten twice this season. Dunn said she expects to see more pressure from Sewanhaka after what they experienced against Island Trees.

“We’re going to prepare to see more pressure from Sewanhaka than we’ve seen from them previously,” she said. “I think if we can play our game and not get out of control, we will have a good chance, but it’s awfully hard to beat a team three times in one season, but we will try.”

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