By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

It can be amazing what a box score doesn’t tell you.

A quick glance at the Field girls basketball team’s box score from Friday’s dominant 55-12 victory over Coventry shows junior Mckayla Miller scored four points.

If you stopped there, you would inaccurately suppose that she had little impact on the Falcons’ Metro Athletic Conference win.

When, in reality, Miller left a staggering imprint that set an early defensive tone that became contagious for her entire team.

Field’s Abby Harlin releases a free throw during the second half of Friday’s Metro Athletic Conference matchup with Coventry.
Tom Nader/Portage Sports

And led to what head coach John Misenko said was “arguably the greatest defensive game” he had ever been a part of.

It all started with Miller’s on-ball pressure, which resulted in five first-quarter steals. Those swipes oftentimes turned into transition points for the Falcons, who scored the game’s first 13 points and led 13-2 after the first quarter.

That lead ballooned to 33-8 by halftime, with Miller collecting three more steals and a blocked shot, while her teammates were finding the same defensive success, forcing the Comets into 20 first-half turnovers.

By game’s end, Miller, who did not play the fourth quarter, finished with 12 steals and six assists.

Oh, what a box score won’t tell you.

“My whole thing about today was that I wanted us to come out and play Field’s style of basketball and to get into it defensively,” Misenko said. “Mckayla definitely set the tone early on with that and it became contagious with all the girls. It was fun to see.”

In total, the Falcons, with active hands and lateral quickness, collected 27 steals on Friday and improved to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in league play, while the Comets (0-5 MAC) dropped their sixth straight to start the year.

Field was led offensively by junior Delilah Rahe, who finished with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. She also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, along with four steals and a charge taken.

Ally Harlin joined Rahe in double-digit scoring with 12 points, and she also had four steals, with Sarah Balzer and Abby Harlin scoring six points each.

“As a team, we didn’t foul a lot on defense, which allowed us to get the turnovers and then get out in the open court,” Misenko said.

Field extended its lead to 49-12 after winning the third quarter 16-4, then the Falcons held the Comets scoreless in the final eight minutes.

The Falcons shot 20-of-46 (44 percent) from the field, 12-of-25 (48 percent) from the free-throw line and 3-of-13 (23 percent) from 3-point range.