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Ida formula keeps working - 08/28/2002
By RON MONTRI
Ida's Kristen Dye pressured Stephanie Lieto of Jefferson Tuesday night. Dye scored 15 points and Ida's defense was outstanding in a 44-16 victory. Ida coach Tim Leonard rolled out another quality Ida girls basketball team Tuesday night, whipping Jefferson 44-16. Nothing ever seems to change with the Ida girls basketball program. The Blue Streaks always have tall girls who move well. They always play in-your-face defense. They almost always lead the Region in fewest points allowed. Ida had those weapons on display Tuesday night, putting Jefferson's offense in a vise during a season-opening 44-16 victory. "We haven't seen size like that in any summer game or scrimmage. It was like getting thrown to the lions right off the bat,'' Jefferson coach Doug Hand said. "Their defensive pressure set the tempo. We couldn't get into our offense. How many years in a row has Ida led the county in defense?'' It could be another, based on the opening night. Jefferson scored the first basket of the game, then went almost 19 minutes without a point until Stephanie Piotrowski tossed in a layup at the 4:34 mark of the third quarter. It was 34-2 Ida at that point. "We knew they had some 3-point shooters. We got out on them and didn't give them good looks,'' Ida coach Tim Leonard said. Lyndsay Miller opened her junior year with a big night. She finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, 4 steals and a pair of assists. When she sat down for good in the fourth quarter, she had outscored and outrebounded the entire Jefferson team. "Lyndsay is going to have a good year,'' Leonard said of the 6-1 forward. "If we put in Mel (6-3 senior center Melanie Nowak) not many teams are going to match up with that.'' Kristen Dye also had a solid game for Ida, hitting 7 of 11 floor shots and notching 15 tallies. "A lot of her points didn't come on set plays. That's just moving without the ball,'' Leonard said. Hand was impressed with Ida's savvy. "They have a veteran team. They put the ball in the hands of people who can score,'' he said. Ida returns four starters from a team that won 21 games, although Emily Albring didn't play much Tuesday night. "She has some leg problems. She's hobbled,'' Leonard said. "When she doesn't start, we have to move some people around.'' One of Leonard's few complaints was a lack of depth. Ida's bench tallied just 2 points. "We don't go as deep as we usually do. We aren't going to be able to press a lot. Hopefully, our half-court game can bail us out.'' he said. Alyssa Eppler scored 10 of Jefferson's points. She was among three sophomores in the starting lineup and freshman Piotrowski ran the point. "She did a good job,'' Hand said of Piotrowski. "We've got some shooters. This was their first game on the varsity level and it's a huge difference from the JV, freshman or eighth grade. We'll be okay. We just need to keep our heads up.'' Ida also won the reserve game 37-11 as Kim Dye scored 10.