Transition offense has lifted the Corsica-Stickney girls basketball team in playoff run
Mar. 11—CORSICA, S.D. — Corsica-Stickney has now reached the Class B semifinals for the third time in the last four years and the Jaguars transition offense has been a key reason for notching such an accomplishment.
In 12 of its 24 games this season, Corsica-Stickney has gotten out to at least a 10-point lead after the first quarter, thanks to its early stops on the defensive end, leading to easy buckets in transition on the offensive end.
It starts up front with Morgan Clites and Payton DeLange, who both average 2.5 steals this season. Even if the opposing team makes it past those two tough guards, they still have to deal with Avery Broughton at the rim, the team's leading shot blocker at 2.6 blocks per game.
In its come-from-behind win against White River in the quarterfinals of this year's state tournament, the transition offense didn't become prevalent until the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Avery Broughton said the team needed that spark on the defensive end in order to help its offense that had only scored 33 points through three quarters.
"We need to run the floor. We play so well when we run the floor and get out in transition," Broughton said. "We need to stay focused defensively, stay grounded so we don't foul and get out and run. We play our game that way, it's usually how we win."
With a starting five that's been playing together since elementary school and earning varsity minutes since 2018, this year's postseason run feels a bit different than any in the past since three members of the starting five will graduate later this year.
The seniors within the starting five of Clites, Rachel Gerlach and Casey Tolsma, along with juniors DeLange and Avery Broughton, play the bulk of the varsity minutes on the court. They've held opponents to 30 percent shooting from the floor, 27 percent from behind the arc and have forced teams to commit an average of 17 turnovers per contest.
Head coach Lorisa Broughton said the defensive end is so important to this team's success. Regardless of what the Jaguars are playing for on Saturday in the Watertown Civic Arena, it will be the last game this starting five takes the floor together.
"Our defense is very big in our success, especially from our guards," Lorisa Broughton said. "We had been talking all week that it was going to be our defensive effort and our offensive rebounds in this run. Avery has been a force in the paint and our guards have stepped up big for us all year. ... This group is leaving a legacy behind and it's special."
