By Dennis Bowling
Beecher Coach Adam Keen knows freshman Ava Pattenaude has a very bright future with the Bobcats. Without a doubt, she is mature beyond her years and did an exceptional job on January 24, including in the waning moments of the game against Iroquois West.
With little time left in the game, Beecher clung to a 36-32 lead. At that point, Pattenaude made a crucial basket, increase the lead to 38-32. She then drove to the basket, was fouled, and sank a pair of game winning free throws to help Beecher edge the Raiders, 40-32. It was a thrilling non-conference win at Beecher Junior High, with the Bobcats (6-18) upending the highly touted Raiders, who fell to 14-11.
Keen was very happy with Pattenaude, who finished with a team-high nine points and five steals, and said, “Ava has continued to grow in her game. We look to her to handle the pressure situations, and she’s evolved into a great guard.”
Patttenaude, a 5’-4” guard, who stood tall against the Raiders, remarked, “I’m gaining confidence in playing on the varsity, and I just knew we could pull out the win.”
Bobcat sophomore Evelyn Jablonski finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Aylin Lagunas added eight points and nine rebounds.
“Evelyn was aggressive and was getting the rebounds,” Pattenaude commented. “Aylin had some nice moves around the basket and played good defense, too.”
Keen was quite pleased with the play of Jablonski and Lagunas, noting, “Evelyn has been doing very well with her defense around the basket. She’s been getting crucial rebounds and made some great offensive plays, also.”
“Aylin creates a shot for herself and is getting in the right position around the basket,” he continued. “The effort is there. We are just gaining confidence.”
Jablonski evaluated her play against the Raiders and said, “My defense is ok, but my offense could be better. I was able to get some easy layups and had some open shots, too.”
“Ava is a pretty good shooter,” she added. “She is young and can handle the ball, while Aylin is strong in the post area.”
At the end of the half, Beecher had a 21-11 lead. Then early in the third quarter, the Raiders rallied to hold a 22-21 advantage, but the Bobcats outscored the Raiders by an 11-4 count to own a 32-26 lead at the close of the stanza.
In the third, Jablonski’s trey gave the Bobcats a 24-22 lead, which she followed by sinking a pair of free throws for a 26-22 advantage. Trinity Bonhan’s (6 points) layup made it 28-22. Moments later, Lagunas and Pattenaude each made single buckets for a 32-22 lead at the end of three.
In the junior varsity contest, the Raiders beat the Bobcats by a 39-20 count. Molly Vladika led the Bobcats with nine points, with Sam Wilson adding four for Beecher.