One team played sloppy ball. It made mental errors, costly fouls, got beat on the boards and couldn't hit shots.
The other team played lock-down defense. Hit shots from anywhere on the court and ran away with the game.
The thing is the two are one and the same ... just at different times.
The Maryville High School girls basketball team struggled in the first half against Clarinda before ultimately cruising past the Cardinals 47-33 Saturday at Maryville High School.
After falling behind 25-20 in the first half, Maryville (7-3) came out of the locker room a rejuvenated team. The Spoofhounds turned everything about their game around to dominate the second half 27-8.
Maryville coach Grant Hageman said his team had a little trouble getting up for another game less than 24 hours after a hard fought 65-58 home victory against Lafayette the night before.
"I think it took us a little while to wake up," Hageman said. "I think we had a little bit of a spill over from (Friday) night. We were a little tired, and maybe just not ready to go right away in the first half.
"Then we got into foul trouble and that just kind of slowed us down offensively."
Maryville recorded 13 fouls in the first half to Clarinda's four. The Cardinals scored 12 of their first-half points from the free-throw line.
The second half was a different story. The Spoofhounds picked it up on defense while cutting way back on their fouls. Maryville was called for a foul just five times in the second half.
"The girls at halftime agreed that we just weren't playing as hard as we needed to and just had to pick it up," Hageman said. "We were switching defenses a little bit. We played a little zone-press. I think that helped us."
Hageman said the high-speed zone helped the Spoofhounds pick up their energy a little bit. The Cardinals started to miss shots, and Maryville started to hit them.
The Spoofhounds started the second half on an 8-2 run capped by a 2-pointer by Mataya Wooten to take their first lead of the game just two minutes into the third quarter.
Wooten scored a couple of minutes later to give the Spoofhounds a three-point lead and they never looked back.
"Basketball is a game of momentum," Hageman said. "After that I think we just kind of rolled."
Hageman said the second-half turnaround had a lot to do with a change in the Spoofhounds' attitude.
