Local Sports

Monday, March 15, 2010

Girls basketball: Eagles head back to state

By TED RADICK

Staff writer

LEXINGTON -- Collins Western Reserve had a precise game plan Saturday: get the ball inside, force Liberty-Benton to respect the post game, and open things up for the Roughriders' outside shooters.

During the opening minutes of the Division III regional final at Lexington, that strategy worked well. The Eagles adjusted, however, got their running game going and blew out Western Reserve 73-42.

The victory advances Liberty-Benton to the state final four at Value City Arena in Columbus for the second straight year. The Eagles (25-0) will meet Smithville (25-1) at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Ironton (17-7) and Middletown Madison (26-0) play in Thursday's 1 p.m. Division III semifinal. The state championship game will be 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

Western Reverse's Casey Molesky banked in a pair of close-in shots in the opening minute as the Roughriders took the ball down low.

“They definitely came out and threw it inside more than I thought they would,” Liberty-Benton coach Nate Irwin said.

Western Reserve coach Brenda Friend said that was something she installed in the game plan earlier in the week.

“Our first couple of possessions we put in a couple of three-post offenses. We felt that's where we needed to go first, to maybe open things up a little outside,” Friend said. “We executed the first two or three times down the floor and got the shot we wanted.”

But not after that.

Liberty-Benton began fronting the Western Reserve posts, shutting down the lob over the top. Several turnovers followed and led to transition baskets.

“Our defense is a team defense. You have to be in a certain spot at a certain time and that's what our girls did. We were able to get some turnovers and stop their inside game,” Irwin said.

Liberty-Benton got its offense going as well. After leading just 8-6 with less than five minutes left in the first quarter, the Eagles blitzed the Roughriders with a 16-2 run that extended into the second quarter. The Eagles had four different players score in burst.

“I've been coaching for 27 years and that's the best team I've coached against,” Friend said.

“In focusing on what we wanted to defend, we knew we had to defend the dribble drive and the kick out. We have one team in our league that's pretty good at that, but nothing compared to this.”

Amber Petersen led Liberty-Benton with 19 points. Caite Craft had 18, Amanda Hyde 13 and Ashley Snider 10.

Most importantly, Western Reserve decided to run with the Eagles. Liberty-Benton's previous two postseason opponents, Lake and Tinora, used a slow-down attack to limit L-B's scoring opportunities.

“We had a feeling these guys were going to run on us,” Irwin said. “At times, those are the teams that have struggled to guard us because we have so many girls who can attack the rim. When they shut that down, that opened up some wide-open 3-pointers.”

Liberty-Benton hit four treys in the first half in building a 35-15 halftime lead.

“It was nice to finally get out there and go,” Liberty-Benton guard Catelen Ramsey said. “We ran the floor and finished.”

The Eagles built their lead to as high as 36 points in the third quarter.

“They're the real deal, and it's going to be a great disappointment to me if they don't win the state championship,” Friend said. “There was a point where I was just praying that we could score.”

Western Reserve guard Erica Jenkins, a first-team all-Northwest Ohio pick, hit just 4 of 15 shots and finished with 13 points. The Roughriders were 15 of 43 shooting from the field.

“I think Caite did a great job on her, of frustrating her to the point where maybe she forced up a couple shots that she normally doesn't have to force,” Irwin said.

“Coach told me she liked to drive. So I gave her a step and tried to get out if she was going to shoot,” Craft said. “Coach told me her favorite move was the spin move, so I tried to keep her in front of me.”

Now, the Eagles head to Columbus for the second consecutive year. L-B lost to South Euclid Regina, 59-30, in the semifinals a season ago.

“It feels good to be back again,” Hyde said. “I think we're more excited than we were last year. Last year, it was kind of unexpected. At the beginning of last season if someone would have told me we made it to state, I would have been shocked.

“This whole season it's kind of been in the back of our heads, not that we wanted to think too far ahead. It's hard to get it out of your mind. The anticipation has been building and now that it's finally here, we're really pumped.”

Western reserve (42)

Jenkins 4-14 4-5--13, Molesky 5-6 0-0--10, Patrick 2-4 0-0--5, Jackson 2-6 0-0--4, Dore' 0-2 3-4--3, Robson 1-2 0-0--2, Palmer 1-2 0-0--2, Canfield 0-1 2-2--2, Clouse 0-1 1-2--1, Wyant 0-3 0-0--0, McHenry 0-1 0-0--0, Chafin 0-0 0-0--0, Czompoly 0-0 0-0--0. TOTALS: 15-43 10-13--42.

Liberty benton (73)

Petersen 8-10 2-2--19, Craft 7-15 1-3--18, Hyde 5-11 2-2--13, Snider 3-5 4-4--10, Ramsey 3-6 0-1--8, Rhodes 1-1 0-0--3, Gibson 1-2 0-2--2, Burkett 0-1 0-0--0, A. Schroeder 0-0 0-0--0, K. Schroeder 0-0 0-0--0, McCleary 0-0 0-0--0, Mason 0-0 0-0--0, Stuck 0-0 0-0--0, Weaver 0-0 0-0--0. TOTALS: 28-51 9-14--73.

Western Reserve 8 7 12 15 -- 42

Liberty-Benton 20 15 25 13 -- 73

3-Point GOALS: Western Reserve 2-11 (Jenkins 1-7, Patrick 1-2, Jackson 0-1, Palmer 0-1); Liberty-Benton 8-15 (Craft 3-6, Ramsey 2-3, Petersen 1-1, Rhodes 1-1, Hyde 1-3, Burkett 0-1).

Rebounds: Western Reserve 27 (Wyant 6, Jenkins 3); Liberty-Benton 27 (Snider 6, Hyde 5, Petersen 4). Assists: Western Reserve 6 (Patrick 2, Dore' 2); Liberty-Benton 12 (Hyde 4, Craft 3, Ramsey 3). Steals: Western Reserve 5 (Jackson 2), Liberty-Benton 14 (Craft 4, Petersen 3).

Turnovers: Western Reserve 19, Liberty-Benton 8.

Radick, 419-427-8405,

tedradick@thecourier.com

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