Back to their brand of basketball.
That was the sentiment after the Malcolm girls’ basketball went to Louisville Dec. 21 and dominated the Lady Lions, 54-27.
With its full-court press working well, the No. 3 Clippers took advantage of a depleted Louisville team, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
“No only did they lose some good seniors from last year’s team, they had a really solid six-footer on their team that transferred out,” Malcolm coach Andy Klepper said. “They also have some health issues making life difficult. I feel bad for them.”
The Lions threw what they could at the Clippers and even tried a box-and-one defense to slow down Alyssa Fortik. It failed as the 5-3 point guard was seemingly able to score at will.
“Honestly, it took us a little while to recognize that’s what they were doing,” Klepper said. “Alyssa wasn’t having any trouble getting shots off.”
The senior scored all 16 of her points in the first half as she went 7-of-15 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers.
Diamond Sedlak and Emma Brown added 12 points apiece as the juniors offered an inside-outside threat. Sedlak nailed three from long range while Brown had her way in the paint and got to the charity stripe six times.
“It was the first time this season all three of our junior starters were in double figures,” Klepper said. “When we can get that kind of production out of them, we’re a lot tougher to beat.”
Sedlak was a difference-maker all over the court as she led the Clippers with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Lauryn England came off the bench to provide a spark as she also added four assists and three steals.
“It seemed like Lauryn was in the right place at the right time a whole bunch,” Klepper said. “She did some nice things to help our team.”
The Clippers (7-1) are hosting their Boosters’ Winter Tournament this week. Malcolm opened with a 61-16 win over Wilber-Clatonia (1-6) Tuesday and was to face No. 8 Oakland-Craig (6-2) Wednesday.
“If it comes to down to Oakland-Craig and us, that will be a tough test,” Klepper said. “Their guards are good and can make life tough on ball handlers. It should be a good matchup.”
