Senators fall, but look much improved in second showing with Bishop Manogue

There was a big difference in the level of play seen from Carson High girls basketball in its second meeting with Bishop Manogue compared to the first.

On their home floor, the Senators battled with the Miners for most of the night, but a couple of runs for Bishop Manogue were enough separation for a 52-40 win.

Halfway through the second quarter, Carson trailed 22-20 after Bella Kordonowy deposited an interior bucket off an assist fro Madison Rabideau.

Carson forced two turnovers on its next two trips on defense, but both steals ended up back in the hands of the Miners for buckets.

A third fast break basket before the half pushed Bishop Manogue to its biggest lead of the opening half, 28-20, at the intermission.

A 9-5 run for Bishop Manogue to open the third quarter gave the Miners a double-digit lead, which they held onto the rest of the way.

The Miners led by as many as 17 before the Senators put together a final push to cut it to 11 behind an Abby Golik triple and another Kordonowy bucket in the paint.

“I felt good about how we approached it, I felt good about our game plan,” said Carson head coach Doug Whisler. “We just have to do the little things right.”

The first half featured a bunch of defense with some intermittent scoring.

As usual, the Senators got a couple of baskets with steals that led to fast break chances.

Bishop Manogue used a lot of high-pressure defenses both in the form of a full court press and in the half court, attempting to trap the Senators near the timeline.

Carson was ready for a lot of the looks they saw from the Miners, whether that was Bishop Manogue’s half court trap or zone three-quarter court press.

The Senators did a good job of escaping traps, but still fell victim to some turnovers on the offensive end of the floor.

Bishop Manogue also ran the floor better than most teams Carson has seen this year, forcing the Senators to miss a couple of fast break layup opportunities.

“They’re quick and they hustle everywhere. There’s no slow down with those guys,” said Whisler. “To beat a team like that you have to play mistake-free basketball.”

Kordonowy and Lily Bouza ended the night with 10 points for Carson while Golik added eight of her own.

Camryn Quilling and Naycy Alvarez each added five points to the Senators’ cause in the loss.

There wasn’t much of a comparison in Whisler’s mind from the first meeting – where Bishop Manogue won 74-46 – to Tuesday night’s contest.

“100 percent better. We looked like a completely different team,” said Whisler.

UP NEXT: Carson (14-6, 4-3) will look to avenge its only other loss in Sierra League play, traveling to Damonte Ranch (10-8, 4-3) Friday night. The Mustangs took down the Senators 60-29 in their first meeting in Carson.