Allen East’s Aubrey Young (14) and Rilynn Jones (12) chase after a loose ball knocked away from Perry’s Meme Hall during last week’s game.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
HARROD — There’s one way a lot of high school girls basketball teams play defense.
Then there’s the way Allen East plays defense: Physically, aggressively, and with an absolute intent to knock the ball away from you.
“If you see another team get on a loose ball, it’s kind of demoralizing,” Allen East coach Aaron Montgomery said. “They’re beating people to loose balls. We want to be the hardest-working team on the floor. If you are, that gets you a 50% chance to win a game. If you’re playing hard and you’re working hard, it provides you those extra possessions to win the game.”
That math seems to add up for these untamed Mustangs (17-2, 5-2 NWC).
Allen East changed from a team with only four winning seasons in the past 15 years, into one guaranteed to have back-to-back winning seasons after going 17-7 last year, its first winning campaign since 2018-19.
“I feel like we’ve definitely proven ourselves,” said Savana Brooks, a 5-foot-8 senior forward. “Allen East basketball is never looked at as a good team, and proving them wrong by winning big games really helps.”
Rilyn Jones, a 5-foot-5 senior point guard, added, “We were definitely overlooked. Especially in past years, we haven’t been very good here. But having the same group of girls come out every year, we learned to play together like a team. That’s a big part of how we got better.”
It’s heavily influenced by that defensive intensity. Whether it’s creating half-court traps or engaging in a full-court press, the Mustangs like to dial up the pressure.
In Saturday’s win against Perry, the Mustangs had 16 steals and forced 20 turnovers, led by Jones’ five steals, including four in the fourth quarter.
“My whole team, we’re all about ball pressure,” Jones said. “So them frustrating their person makes it harder for them to pass the ball. I’m just jumping into the passing lane. It’s a whole team thing.”
It’s a whole team thing that started the day Montgomery became the head coach.
“It’s something we started Day 1, three years ago when I took over. That’s getting them to move their feet,” Montgomery said. “We do shell defense every single day. Loose balls, every single day. We put them in situations, two on one, where they have to adjust and scramble.”
Sometimes that means getting a little physical. The players are up for it, Jones said.
“Our coaches preach that getting on the ball, that’s how you win big ballgames,” Jones said.
Allen East has the school record for wins within range. The Mustangs now believe they can win big games. They’ve shown that ability in a nine-game winning streak since losing to Delphos Jefferson on Jan. 4.
“That was a hard-fought game but it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to,” Montgomery said. “We kind of had a discussion as a team in the locker room the next day when we came back. What can we learn from this? We talked about how we can control the controllables and do what we do. From that moment, that loss really has reset our season for us.”
Since that Jefferson loss, the Mustangs’ average margin of victory is 20 points, giving up an average of just 32 points per game. Twice, they only allowed 14 points, against Leipsic and Ada. Meanwhile, Allen East scores an average of 52 points per game.
The Mustangs’ eyes really opened wide after a five-point win at Crestview on Jan. 18, beating a team with 17 NWC championships.
“I definitely feel like after Crestview, once we beat them, we finally realized that we’re good enough to compete with every team around,” Jones said.
The key is sticking with what brought them so far, a ferocious defense.
“The team we have right now is amazing,” Brooks said. “We’re playing as a team, getting the wins, and pushing toward our goals to achieve them. It’s just awesome.”
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
