Height disadvantage cited in two Oracle losses
By Todd Swank

Delphi's Amanda Schultz battles for a loose ball against Pioneer last week. Joanna Zink (No. 5) is seen in the background. Bill Stauffer photo

The 2006-2007 Delphi Lady Oracles opened their season with two losses.

The first was on the road at Greentown where the Eastern Lady Comets outscored the Oracles 38-28.

The Oracles' lack of size hurt them in their first game. With only two players standing 5'9" or taller and with Joanna Zink the tallest at 5'10", the Oracles are going to have to play smart and avoid turnovers to have a chance of winning. Their first opponent had two players over 6'0" tall and they used that height advantage to get several second chance baskets and keep the game out of reach of the Delphi girls.

Within the first minute the Oracles jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a basket by Erika Hawn. This was to be the only lead of the game for Delphi. Eastern held a 6-2 lead nearly four minutes into the first period. The score remained the same until Hawn hit a three-pointer with less than two minutes to go. A three-point shot by the Comets' Kelsey Myers made the score 9-5 at the end of the quarter.

Delphi's Kristina Barnard made one of two free throws to start the second quarter scoring. Another trey by Hawn tied it at 9-9 a short time later. The Comets' Myers hit consecutive baskets, one of them worth three, to give the Comets a 14-9 edge that held up until the Oracles' Amanda Schultz scored with 46 seconds left in the half. The Comets led at halftime 16- 11.

Both teams scored on their second possession of the second half. The score remained 18-13 for over five minutes. The Oracles' Emily Kayser finally made a basket with 1:33 remaining to close the gap to 18-15. At the end of three periods the score stood at 23-17, in favor of the Comets.

Delphi got to within three at 24- 21 on a basket by Barnard, but could get no closer. The height edge began to show as the players tired. Eastern kept pulling away until the final gun sounded.

Oracle JV edged Eastern 20- 18. Evans led scoring with 8, followed by 4 from Kendall and Randal, 2 from Burge and 1 each from Lake and Baxter.

Vs. Pioneer

The Pioneer Lady Panthers were in Delphi Saturday night for the Lady Oracles' first home game. They spoiled the home

opener by outscoring the hosts 17-6 the last seven minutes of the game for a 47-38 victory

Once again size played a factor in the outcome. The Panthers had a trio of six footers to dominate the inside play and the final scored showed it. Pioneer scored 39 of their points within eight to ten feet of the basket.

The score stood at 6-6 halfway through the first period before the Panthers began to separate themselves a little. They would score seven in a row for a 13-6 lead. The Panthers maintained that seven-point edge at 15-8 after the first quarter expired. Hawn scored half of the Oracles points with a pair of baskets. The score remained 15-8 until Hawn made a pair of free throws at the 6:11 mark. The Panthers tried to pull away from the Oracles but every time they would gain a bigger lead, the Oracles would answer with a score of their own. The Oracles managed to stay within striking distance without the senior leadership of Brianne Stauffer, who was sitting out much of the first half with two early fouls. Hawn and Haley Richardson scored all of the Oracle points in the period. The halftime score was 19-15, in favor of the Panthers.

The Oracles would chip away at the lead some more in the third period. Stauffer hit a basket to start the Oracle rally. The Panthers went up by seven, 24- 17. Olivia George hit a basket and free throw for a 24-20 score. Stauffer hit again followed by another Richardson basket. Delphi trailed by only two, 26- 24. A short time later, Stauffer tied the score at 28 before the Panthers scored a basket to end the third period.

Scores by Schultz and Stauffer gave the Oracles their first lead of the game at 32-30 one minute into the final quarter. After the Panthers regained the lead a basket by Richardson put the Oracles back into the lead for the final time 34-33. Pioneer would go on a 10-0 scoring spurt to lead 43-34 with just over a minute left to put the game into the win column. The Oracles just couldn't stop the lob passes to the post players who often enjoyed a four to six inch height advantage.

Delphi's JV had another successful night, outscoring the Panthers 20-17. Scoring for Delphi were Kendall with 5, Baxter 4, Jones and Burge 3 each, Lake, Evans, and Oliver 2 each.