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Sports

Turnovers Plague Lady Monarchs in Loss to the Bonackers

A swarming man-to-man defense wasn't enough to secure a win for the Lady Monarchs on Friday night.

The East Hampton Lady Bonackers defeated the Bishop McGann-Mercy Lady Monarchs 46-27 Friday night, dropping them to 1-2 on the young season.            

The Lady Monarchs stormed the court with a swarming defense to begin the game, but 17 turnovers plagued the team, giving East Hampton (3-1) the advantage the team needed.

"Right now, in non-league play, we wanted to work on improving our man-to-man, which is why we didn't really go into a zone defense tonight," Lady Monarch coach Jacki Paton said.

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The man-to-man defense presented by the Monarchs did force 13 Bonacker turnovers and gave the team an early lead, but the Monarch offensive struggles kept them from being able to solidify a lead. The first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie but the half ended with East Hampton taking a 26-18 lead.

East Hampton coach Howard Wood was disappointed to see his team start slow. "We can't afford to let anyone get out to a lead because then you've got to fight back and that takes up a lot of energy. Eventually we're going to have a tough time fighting back."

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The Bonackers' sophomore Kaelyn Ward was a contributing factor in helping her team fight back in this game. Ward had 2 rebounds, one assist, 10 points and two steals in the game.

Wood said the team just has a fighting back mentality. "After last year's 1-17 season, they begged for a spring league, a summer league.  They showed up for practice after junior prom … We throw a lot at them, but they keep working," he said.

Despite the loss, Paton said she was pleased with the progress she saw out of her young team, returning only one starter from last season.  "Tonight I saw a big improvement from two weeks ago," she said. "We have a roster of 13, and there is only one returning starter from last year.  This is a team that has to develop chemistry and learn to play together."

Standouts for Mercy against East Hampton included sophomore Dani Gehring who hit 3 three-point shots, grabbed one rebound and blocked one shot. Elizabeth Hartman, who received the most improved player award last year, scored four of McGann-Mercy's 27 points and had three rebounds. 

Next Frday, the Bonackers will battle neighbor West Hampton at East Hampton High School. McGann-Mercy will try to rebound against rival Hampton Bays.

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