PRESCOTT — Prescott girls basketball entered conference play with a slow first half, quickly making adjustments to win in dominant fashion against Osceola 60-32 Nov. 26.

The Cardinals had a lead right from the get-go that they would not cough up, but at 20-14 after nine minutes of play, the Cardinals knew they could do better. Violet Otto was in control early, scoring 11 of the team’s first 20 and finishing with 23.

Late in the half, Prescott made a solid run and an offensive rebound and layup with seconds remaining from Osceola kept it from a double-digit margin at 30-22.
Head Coach Owen Hamilton and the team knew they had to slow the game down on both ends, staying patient and controlling the ball for an open shot while also forcing Osceola to work the ball around and not give up anything easy.

“The big focus in the second half was just slowing ourselves down a little bit and making sure we actually run our offense instead of getting the very first look we see,” Hamilton said. “A lot of times you can get that look at any point in the possession.”

Everything they talked about came to fruition in the second half. The players were firing on all cylinders and the change in philosophy showed.

“At halftime, our momentum changed,” Otto said. “We realized that we had to get going and really push the ball up the court.”

A reason for Prescott’s decisive conference opener, as well as the high hopes many have for the team this year, is the scoring depth. The Cardinals have a lengthy list of players that can pile on for 8-10 points on any given night.

“It takes the pressure off,” Hamilton said. “Violet Otto is an incredible player, but I think it helps when you’ve got girls that can get shots up, hit shots, get transition layups, finish at the rim, do all those little things… They make my job so much easier, it’s unbelievable.”

Against Osceola, Hannah Schommer posted 10 points, Nora Boles went for nine and Rory Zuehlsdorf added eight.

Prescott has already taken on some tough opponents to kick the year off, losing to Hudson 72-37 and Elk Mound 57-45. While that was the last the team will see of Hudson this year, Elk Mound is a team they could very well see down the road. Elk Mound entered the playoffs undefeated a season ago, and a path to State may run through them.

“We’re already battle-tested,” Hamilton said. “We test ourselves early so we can make sure we know where we’re at.”

Hamilton said the team has full belief that both of those games bettered them, and if they see Elk Mound again, they will be prepared for another battle.

“It just adds to the fire,” Otto said. “We realized what we need to work on and what we are doing good at.”

Basketball is a long season, running from the middle of November until the middle of March. Prescott has already learned some valuable things about this year’s team, looking forward to addressing them as the year rolls on.

“The attention to detail. We talk about the 1%, the little things that add up over the span of a season or a game, and how important they are,” Hamilton said. “Tonight maybe was the night where it finally cracked into our heads.”

“When we run transition, we’re really good as a team, but overall, just slowing down, getting into our posts. Our posts are really talented, we just struggle getting into it sometimes,” Otto said.

Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, Prescott heads to Somerset on Dec. 3 followed by a tournament at UWRF over the weekend.