The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Friday, March 6, 1998

OHIO GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Flashes 61, Warriors 44

Lady Warriors ousted

By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer

ANDOVER, Ohio _ Thursday night's Division III Sectional-District semifinal was a microcosm of the Brookfield High School girls' basketball team's '97-98 season.

The Lady Warriors displayed the intensity, hustle and heart for which they have become respected, but they struggled with another of their traditional hallmarks _ shooting _ and the result was a 61-44 season-ending setback to Champion.

``Overall, I think the kids played extremely well,'' veteran mentor Tim Filipovich said in assessing the season. ``We did a lot of good things. We were unfortunate in some games. We just didn't the shoot the ball as well as I anticipated that we would.''

Brookfield fell behind, 10-0, at the outset, then was forced to expend its energy in an ill-fated comeback bid due in part to 23 turnovers and 12-for-51 shooting from the field.

The Lady Warriors drew within 15-12 by the close of the opening quarter, and still trailed 28-20 at intermission, though Christy Reiser tallied a trio of treys and 12 of her team-leading 17 points.

And when Reiser drained a trifecta 43 seconds into the second half, Brookfield narrowed its deficit to 28-23. But that proved to be as close as the Lady Warriors would get.

With Champion junior stalwart Kelli Sescourka tallying 6 of her game-high 28 points and teammates Erin Kish and Rachael Ghindia contributing 5 and 4 points, respectively, the Flashes forged to a 41-29 advantage by the third-quarter turn.

Champion, culminating in Kristen Granata's traditional 3-point play, outscored Brookfield, 9-1, at the outset of the final frame to open up a commanding 50-30 bulge. And although back-to-back treys from Nadine Bayus and Shelley Lucas drew Brookfield within 52-36 with 3:23 remaining, the Lady Warriors got no closer than the final margin.

``We were a little shaky at the beginning, had a lot of unforced errors,'' Filipovich said of his club's half-dozen turnovers and three missed shots that led to the early 10-point deficit. ``But we fought back and got into the game. We had a couple situations where, had we converted _ we had some easy shots and didn't take advantage of 'em _ it might've been a different story.

``But Champion played extremely well; I can't take anything away from them,'' Filipovich praised. ``Their defense was very good and that, sort of, made it difficult for us to do some things.

``Right at the beginning of the second half, we scored on the first possession and got it within five, but then we didn't match up with No. 20 (Beth Daugherty), who we knew could shoot, and she hit a three. So they hit the big shots at the right time and, sort of, kept us snuffed out. Then we started chasin' them around and it was kind of hard to stay with 'em.''

Led by Sescourka's respective 10-for-13 and 8-for-8 marksmanship, Champion turned in a 21-for-43 shooting effort from the floor and 17-for-27 performance from the charity stripe, and Ghindia's game-high 11 caroms paced the Flashes to a 37-20 margin on the boards.

In conclusiion, Filipovich fondly spoke of his eight seniors.

``They happened to be in the same class that my daughter's in, and my daughter used to play basketball with 'em, so I've been pretty close to them. They've stayed over my house and been with my daughter a lot, so it's kinda hard to see these young ladies go.

``I think it was more than just a coach relationship; more of a father relationship,'' Filipovich said with a laugh. ``Sometimes we were too personal with each other, and that hurt the coaching part of it, because if you had to get on 'em, they'd take it real serious, and it was never intended that way.

``But as far as how hard they played and how they represented Brookfield High School, they have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm very proud of them,'' Filpovich emphasized.

Ohio Division III Sectional/District semifinal



 BROOKFIELD _ Mohney 4-2-7-10; Reiser 5-3-4-17; Lucas 1-0-0-3; Bayus 2-2-2-8; Chambers 0-0-0-0; Summerville 0-2-2-2; Mortimer 0-1-2-1; Keso 0-0-0-0; Fonagy 0-0-0-0; Obermiyer 0-0-0-0; Vendemia 0-0-0-0, Shoup 0-3-6-3. 3-pt. goals: Reiser 4, Bayus 2, Lucas 1. Totals: 12-13-23-44.

 CHAMPION _ Daugherty 1-0-0-3; Granata 2-1-1-5; Kish 6-3-4-16; Sescourka 10-8-8-28; Ghindia 2-3-4-7; Bryant 0-1-5-1; Prokop 0-0-0-0; Daniels 0-1-2-1; Trevis 0-0-2-0; Alexander 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Kish 1, Daugherty 1. Totals: 21-17-27-61.

BROOKFIELD    12  20  29  44
CHAMPION      15  28  41  61

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Updated March 6, 1998
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