Patriots Shoot Down South's Tournament Hopes
J. C. Tilton
Earlier in the season Tri-Village had defeated TVS by a free throw with no time on the clock. South wanted to avenge that loss and had their chance in the first round of the state tournament. Both teams had similar records and South had a fairly good run coming up to the end of the regular season. So the stage was set for a close game. In the early going both teams were cold as they tried to get a feel for the other team. Midway thru the first quarter it was only 2-2. Finally the teams warmed up and the shots started to drop.
Tri-Village had the advantage at the end of the first period. Tri Village experimented with a press to start the 2nd and South changed from a man to man defense to a zone. Early on the Patriots had a good run, scoring 7 while South only managed 2. But South came back and managed a narrow 21-20 lead at halftime. Early in the 2nd half Tri Village changed to zone defense. South came out of the locker room on fire though, and scored 6 quick points to stretch out their lead. The Patriots took a time out to cool off the Panthers. This was effective as it was now the Patriots turn to respond, and the momentum switched to them as they retook the lead and ended the quarter up 32-29.
And the Patriot momentum carried forward to the start of the 4th quarter. Burns sunk two three pointers from the top of the key that swiftly extended the Patriot lead. TVS took a timeout to stop the damage and figure out a way to claw back from a 9 point deficit. But from that point on, the Patriots did a good job of protecting their lead. They controlled the ball well and made accurate passes. TVS could not get any traction on offense and although Moore sank two three pointers of her own, it was not enough as the Patriots advance to play Bethel with a winning score of 46-37. Looking at the box scores a tribute has to be given to the Patriots defense, they kept the two top scorers of the Panthers in a bottle. Davis only scored 4 points and Moore's two 4th quarter treys were her only scores for the night.
Coach Robinson had some praise for the victors, "2 out of 2 times we didn't play well... their players played well.
We scouted them, we knew what they were going to run but they still executed." When asked about McMurray who was leading scorer for the Panthers, "There is not second that she doesn't give 100%.[She] made herself into a player. She struggled as a freshman, but worked hard to make herself into the player she is today". Also the coach wanted acknowledge Maleski who was aggressive, was attacking the basket. The coach was then asked about the senior class as a whole."They provided us with really great basketball this year. The seniors worked hard in the off season to prepare for this season. We will have a lot of holes to fill, the top 4 scorers graduate and the top 3 rebounders graduate". South Scoring: McMurray 14, Makeski 7, Moore 6, Durkle 4, Davis 4, Lipps 2.
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