HAMMOND — No. 2 DeRidder’s season came to a close Thursday afternoon when third-seeded Ellender beat the Dragons 63-50 in a Class 4A semifinal at the Top 28 girls state basketball tournament.
After erasing a 19-point deficit against Huntington in quarterfinals to reach the University Center, a 21-point gap in the fourth quarter against the Patriots (24-7) proved too much for the Dragons (27-7) to overcome despite a late run.
“Man, Ellender’s good,” said DeRidder head coach Charles Kiely. “That constant body pressure … They’re probably one of the top two or three teams we’ve played all year. Props to them. They’re well coached, and those kids can play basketball.”
Ellender’s pressure did a number on DeRidder early in the game. The Dragons committed 19 turnovers and took 15 shots from the field as the Patriots staked a 33-16 halftime lead.
Kiely attributed the problems of holding on to the ball to Ellender’s fast and physical style of defense.
“That really caught me off guard,” Kiely said. “We’re usually better with the basketball. The physicality of (Ellender’s defense) caught us off guard. We’ve gone through some presses from other teams just like butter. It’s hard to simulate a girls team with that kind of physicality.”
Still, DeRidder found a way to make things interesting in the fourth quarter when it went on an 11-1 run that cut Ellender’s lead to 11 points with 3 minutes remaining.
The Dragons cut the Patriots’ lead to single digits with about a minute left, but that was as close as they got get as Ellender drained 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.
“I think we waited to long,” Kiely said. “With the environment and everything we were shell-shocked. We waited too long. ... It was out of our character.”
Ellender sophomore guard Terris McKay gave DeRidder fits at both ends of the floor, finishing with 28 points and nine steals.
“She’s quick and she can handle the basketball,” Kiely said. “She has a future ahead of her. What makes her so dangerous is her is her jump shot. She can knock it down, and that forces you to respect that, allowing her to drive.”
Jalissa Feagins and Domonique Davis led DeRidder, tallying all but three of the Dragons’ field goals for a combined 41 points.
“This is the proudest I’ve been of any team I’ve coached,” Kiely said. “Just the road we’ve taken to be here and the people we’ve played, I couldn’t be prouder. I love our kids. They’ve worked since August, and they’ve done everything I’ve asked. I couldn’t be prouder right now.”
Late Wednesday
Class 3A Semifinal
Albany 52
Iota 50
Sixth-seeded Albany led for much of the game, but Iota was within striking distance, never trailing by more than single digits.
Despite trailing 50-43 with less than 2 minutes remaining, Iota cut the Albany lead to two points and had chance to win in the closing seconds. But the Bulldogs were unable to get a shot off after fumbling a missed free throw.
Madeline Gatte led Iota with 20 points, and Whitney Landry finished with 18 points.
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://ift.tt/2lCtMcN
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment