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LUCAS — When Matt Hess came back for his second stint as Mapleton girls basketball coach, he knew exactly what needed to be done differently than his first stop.
The Mounties needed to buy in on the defensive side of the court. After going 81-91 in seven seasons during his first go-around as head coach that ended after the 2019 season, Hess vowed to make sure things were different this time and it would have to come with a defensive intensity that the program has never seen before.
THE ALL-AMERICAN: Ontario's Hattie Yugovich named All-American for 2025 soccer season
So far, so good. After defeating Lucas 57-28 on Tuesday night in nonconference action, the Mounties improved to 5-0 for a second straight season of 5-0 starts. Hess is just beginning his second year of his second stint and the Mounties are showing the program is ready to compete for its first Firelands Conference championship since 1999.
"I love our defensive effort especially when we set the tone in the first half," Hess said. "We show a lot of intensity to start games and when our rotations are where they need to me, we can get a lot of easy buckets off of turnovers. We tend to get a little sloppy in second halves of games and that will get cleaned up, but as long as we play defense like that, I like our chances."
The Mounties forced 42 turnovers against Lucas and held their fourth opponent under 30 points. The other was a 31-point effort when Mapleton beat Western Reserve 57-31 on Dec. 6.
"Lucas is a great team that won 16 games last year and we are fortunate to come down here in our first game on the road and get a win over a quality opponent," Hess said. "They have three really good scorers, so we are very happy to get out of here with a win. We cannot wait to get back into conference play."
The Mounties came into the game averaging 22 steals per game after racking up 88 in their first four games with five players having 10 or more and Addison Hess leading the way with 20. Many of those steals turn into points just like they did against Lucas when Mapleton jumped out to a 6-0 lead just 45 seconds into the game where Lucas didn't even cross half court.
"Our goal is to get easy transition buckets," Hess said. "That is our identity. We know we are going to need to run an offense at some point, but sometimes, our best offense is what we create off of turnovers."
And they got plenty of those points. Addison Hess led the team with 19 while Aubree Hess had 14, Kenzie Hellickson added 10 and Audrey Hellickson had nine. Kenzie Hellickson was at the front of the defensive effort providing pressure on Lucas' ball handlers all night long. Her all-out play was fueled by one thing.
"It is all about trust," Hellickson said. "We have to trust that our teammates are going to be there on their rotations and we have to trust to go after the traps with help. We have to trust someone is back deep so we don't give up a long pass and we have to trust that someone is always going to be there."
Along with trust, defense is all about effort and it was a process to get the Mounties to buy into giving that much effort every single game.
"It didn't happen over night," Hess said. "We spent some challenging practices and a lot of time in the offseason stressing the importance of defense. We really focused on where our rotations need to be in our press and it has turned into the girls playing some very selfless basketball. They are doing things to help their teammates out and it is leading to wins."
All because they stuck to it.
"It was hard," Hellickson said. "At first, we were pressing and just trying to not foul, but now, we have learned how to play this way and it is leading to wins."
Now, the Mounties head back into Firelands Conference play on Dec. 11 at home against Plymouth where a win would keep them at the top of the FC standings and on pace with New London, South Central and St. Paul. The Mounties are clicking just five games in.
"I think it is our friendship on the team," Hellickson said. "We know each other really well and we get along on and off the court. We are the first ones to pick each other up when we make mistakes and you don't see that very often."
[email protected]
740-244-9934
X: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Mapleton Mounties leaning on defensive intensity during 5-0 start
Continue reading...
The Mounties needed to buy in on the defensive side of the court. After going 81-91 in seven seasons during his first go-around as head coach that ended after the 2019 season, Hess vowed to make sure things were different this time and it would have to come with a defensive intensity that the program has never seen before.
THE ALL-AMERICAN: Ontario's Hattie Yugovich named All-American for 2025 soccer season
So far, so good. After defeating Lucas 57-28 on Tuesday night in nonconference action, the Mounties improved to 5-0 for a second straight season of 5-0 starts. Hess is just beginning his second year of his second stint and the Mounties are showing the program is ready to compete for its first Firelands Conference championship since 1999.
"I love our defensive effort especially when we set the tone in the first half," Hess said. "We show a lot of intensity to start games and when our rotations are where they need to me, we can get a lot of easy buckets off of turnovers. We tend to get a little sloppy in second halves of games and that will get cleaned up, but as long as we play defense like that, I like our chances."
The Mounties forced 42 turnovers against Lucas and held their fourth opponent under 30 points. The other was a 31-point effort when Mapleton beat Western Reserve 57-31 on Dec. 6.
"Lucas is a great team that won 16 games last year and we are fortunate to come down here in our first game on the road and get a win over a quality opponent," Hess said. "They have three really good scorers, so we are very happy to get out of here with a win. We cannot wait to get back into conference play."
The Mounties came into the game averaging 22 steals per game after racking up 88 in their first four games with five players having 10 or more and Addison Hess leading the way with 20. Many of those steals turn into points just like they did against Lucas when Mapleton jumped out to a 6-0 lead just 45 seconds into the game where Lucas didn't even cross half court.
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"Our goal is to get easy transition buckets," Hess said. "That is our identity. We know we are going to need to run an offense at some point, but sometimes, our best offense is what we create off of turnovers."
And they got plenty of those points. Addison Hess led the team with 19 while Aubree Hess had 14, Kenzie Hellickson added 10 and Audrey Hellickson had nine. Kenzie Hellickson was at the front of the defensive effort providing pressure on Lucas' ball handlers all night long. Her all-out play was fueled by one thing.
"It is all about trust," Hellickson said. "We have to trust that our teammates are going to be there on their rotations and we have to trust to go after the traps with help. We have to trust someone is back deep so we don't give up a long pass and we have to trust that someone is always going to be there."
Along with trust, defense is all about effort and it was a process to get the Mounties to buy into giving that much effort every single game.
"It didn't happen over night," Hess said. "We spent some challenging practices and a lot of time in the offseason stressing the importance of defense. We really focused on where our rotations need to be in our press and it has turned into the girls playing some very selfless basketball. They are doing things to help their teammates out and it is leading to wins."
All because they stuck to it.
"It was hard," Hellickson said. "At first, we were pressing and just trying to not foul, but now, we have learned how to play this way and it is leading to wins."
Now, the Mounties head back into Firelands Conference play on Dec. 11 at home against Plymouth where a win would keep them at the top of the FC standings and on pace with New London, South Central and St. Paul. The Mounties are clicking just five games in.
"I think it is our friendship on the team," Hellickson said. "We know each other really well and we get along on and off the court. We are the first ones to pick each other up when we make mistakes and you don't see that very often."
[email protected]
740-244-9934
X: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Mapleton Mounties leaning on defensive intensity during 5-0 start
Continue reading...
