Houston girls suffer loss at hand of stifling Nikiski defense

The Houston Hawks girls' basketball team hosted Nikiski and felt the stinging bite of the Bulldogs' defense Friday at Houston High School.

In an immense struggle to score, the Hawks managed only 18 points in the game while allowing the Bulldogs to score 50.

"Nikiski pushed us around tonight," said Houston coach Jeff Tyson. "They play an intense man-to-man defense and they know how to play it well."

The Hawks' scoring problems began from the opening tip-off. Houston could not penetrate inside with the ball as Nikiski hustled to play tight defense and deny the inside game. The Hawks were able to get some looks from the perimeter but did not take them, opting instead to attempt passes inside.

The high-pressure defense took Houston out of sync while the Nikiski offense looked fluid with a balanced attack of inside penetration and perimeter shooting.

The stifling Bulldog defense enabled Nikiski to gain a 28-7 advantage at halftime.

"So much of our offense depends on our guard play," Tyson said. "If our guards struggle, the rest of the teams follows."

The struggle continued in the second half with Nikiski maintaining the pressure and forcing Houston turnovers. The Bulldogs were able to control the glass by out-rebounding the Hawks two to one.

"We played hard and didn't quit," Tyson said. "We just have to learn from this and try not to make the same mistakes."