Published Thursday, Feb. 27, 1997
DISTRICT 10 AA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Yellowjackets 53
Sailors 38
Lakeview stymied by Girard defense
By Jeff Greenburg
Herald Assistant Sports Editor
ERIE _ When a team doesn't have one player averaging in double figures, it's a pretty safe bet that it probably plays suffocating defense.
Girard certainly did just that Wednesday night, virtually choking the life out of the Lakeview Sailors with a 53-38 win in the District 10 Class AA semifinals at the Hammermill Center on the campus of Gannon University.
Despite the heavy traffic, Lakeview's Casey Spence soars above two Girard players in a rebound battle. (David E. Dale/Herald)
The victory moved the Yellowjackets (21-4), the defending District 10 AA champions and the state's 5th-ranked team, into the finals where they will face Cranberry, a 45-40 winner over Saegertown on Wednesday in another semifinal. Site, date and time were to be determined by the District 10 Committee today.
``We live and die with our defense,'' said Girard veteran mentor Larry Seneta. ``We're not big, so we have to keep pressuring the ball. And that was our game plan, to just try to pressure the ball as much as we could.''
The much quicker, yet undersized Yellowjackets did so in such fine fashion as to limit the Sailors (21-5) to only 10 first-half field goal attempts, while coercing an equal number of turnovers during same span.
Lakeview, which entered the game ranked 9th in the state, didn't connect on its first field goal until six minutes into the game and hit only four first-half shots to fall behind 21-15 at the intermission.
``I knew their defense was great _ it's the best in the district,'' said Sailors coach Ted Jones, whose squad bowed to Girard in the semis for the second consecutive season. ``I thought we had some decent opportunities, but, yeah, they are super quick. They proved why they're the No. 5 team in the state and the defending District 10 champs. They've got a great ballclub and they've got great coaches.''
Perhaps, but not great enough that the Sailors didn't eventually make a run at their favored foes.
A Shannon McCurdy triple midway through the third quarter pulled Lakeview to 23-22 and it appeared the Sailors were going to make a game of it.
But a pair of Sheila Samol deuces sparked an 11-2 run that saw Girard push its lead to 34-24 with 6:27 left in the game.
Samol finished with a game-high 14 points and Heidi Lunser added 11 for the Yellowjackets, who iced the game by hitting 16-of-19 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Lakeview, which boasts a 6-foot, 5-11 front line in Casey Spence and Brooke Barthen, got no closer than seven the rest of the way and Girard's biggest lead came with the final score.
``They've got great ball pressure, they front the post and they have great help on the opposite side,'' said Jones, explaining the difficulties his inside players faced Wednesday.
McCurdy finished with 13 points, including 12 in the second half before fouling out with less than a minute left, Spence added 6 points and 8 boards before fouling out with 30 seconds remaining, Amanda Hildebran scored 8 points and Barthen added 7 points and 6 rebounds for the Sailors.
``They have a great team,'' Seneta said, praising Lakeview. ``I was really worried about their size and strength. They were probably the most aggressive team we played all year. They took us out of some things that we normally are able to do and that hasn't happened all year. I give coach Jones a lot of credit. He's done a great job building up that program.''
One that finds itself in a rematch with French Creek Valley Conference foe Saegertown in the D-10 consolation finals, although both teams have already qualified for interdistrict play.
``This is going to hurt for awhile and some of the girls are going to be disappointed, and they should be disappointed,'' Jones said. ``But as soon as they get out of the shower, they'll get refocused and get ready for tomorrow.''
Notes: Ironically, neither team had a senior starter. In fact there isn't one senior on the entire Girard roster.... Retta Zahniser was the third Sailor starter to foul out, also late in the game. ... Lakeview finished 12-of-33 (.364) from the field, including 2-of-5 behind the arc, and 12-of-19 at the charity stripe. ... Girard managed only 15-of-39 (.385) shooting from the floor.
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Updated Feb. 27, 1997
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