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Strong 4th Lifts No. 1 Tucker
Past Scrappy Lincoln, 67-50
SHINNSTON _ For the first eight games of the season, the Lincoln girls basketball team lived by the fast break. In its long anticipated battle with No. 1 Tucker County Friday night, the Cougars died by it.
Paced by Nikki Nelson's 23 points, a 41-29 rebounding advantage and most importantly a 14-2 run to open the fourth quarter, the Mountain Lions rolled to their ninth straight win of the season in a 67-50 victory.
Tucker County coach David Kyle credited his team's win to its improved performance in the fourth.
"We came out with some full-court pressure in the fourth quarter and got some quick scores to open it up. We didn't do a very good job on the boards until the fourth quarter, and that helped us get out on the fast break during the run."
In the first quarter, both teams poked and jabbed at each other's defenses to see where their offensive strengths would be. The Lions pounded the ball inside to their big center Chandra Nelson against the undersized Cougars.
On the other side of the ball, Lincoln used its speed to get out on the break to score quick points. A 7-2 run to end the quarter allowed Tucker to own a 16-10 advantage.
The lead hovered around the six-point margin until late into the second quarter. Five consecutive points by Tiffany Pierce cut the Cougars deficit down to 29-26, before the teams swapped free throws to end the half with Tucker holding onto a 30-27 advantage.
Through the first 16 minutes, the Cougars were plagued by turnovers caused by the Tucker pressure defense. When they did break the press, the Cougars missed many golden chances to take control of the game, by missing layups and open jumpers.
In the third quarter, the teams traded baskets to keep the score close. Every time the Cougars seemed ready to take the lead, the experienced Lions made a crucial basket to remain on top. Lincoln did tie the score on two occasions at 37-37 and 39-39, but it could never get over the hump and take the lead.
The third period ended with Tucker ahead 43-41.
The final eight minutes would spell doom for the Cougars, as all of their blowout victories would come back to haunt them. Lack of extended playing time in earlier games caused Lincoln to run out of gas in the final period and the Lions took full advantage of it.
The Lions jumped out to their 14-2 run because of the great shooting of Nikki Nelson, many of which came via the fast break. Her 10 points in the run keyed Tucker to a 57-43 lead, and it never looked back.
While the Lions were scoring at will, the Cougars couldn't get anything to fall, and subsequently fell too far behind to make a comeback.
"I was real pleased with the way the girls played tonight," Lincoln coach Jeff Osbourn said. "We did a nice job on the boards against Chandra Nelson, but it was the other Nelson (Nikki) that killed us. They are just a power, and deserve to be number 1."
Sarah Hamrick added 18 points for the Mountain Lions while C.Nelson chipped in 12.
The Cougars were paced by Chrissy Luchuck's 11 points and Tabitha Hutson's 10.
Tucker County (67)
Foreman 3 2-2 8; C.Nelson 4 4-8 12; Hamrick 7 1-4 18; N.Nelson 10 2-3 23; Mc Cune 2 0-0 4; Quattro 1 0-0 2; Barnes 0 0-0 0; Soltow 0 0-0 0; Totals 27 9-17 67.
Lincoln (50)
Medina 2 2-4 6; C. Luchuck 4 2-3 11; Morris 0 1-3 1;
Barron 3 0-0 6; Hutson 5 0-0 10; S. Lambert 3 2-2 8; Pierce 3 1-2 8; Totals 20 8-14 50.
Tucker
16
14
13
24_67
Lincoln
10
17
14
9_50
3-Point Goals:
Hamrick 3, N. Nelson, C. Luchuck, Pierce.
Updated January 13, 1997
Grafton Trims
Bridgeport In
Overtime, 45-42
BRIDGEPORT _ Grafton rallied from an early 11-point deficit to down Bridgeport, 45-42, in overtime in a Big 10 Conference girls basketball clash Friday night at the BHS gymnasium.
Things didn't start out very well for the Bearcats (2-6 overall and 1-3 in Big 10 action) as Bridgeport scored the game's first 11 points.
Kristen Queen hit two 3-pointers and totalled eight of her 12 points during the surge which left the Indians in front 11-4 after one quarter.
GHS again trailed by 11 points in the second quarter, 15-4, when the Bearcats made their move by hitting some perimeter shots.
"We have done this (building big leads) in five or six of our games this year," said Bridgeport coach Dave Marshall. "I just can't figure out why we lose them (leads) and we have tried just about every way to keep the motivation and nothing seems to work."
The 'Cats made seven-of-nine shots from the floor in the second quarter as Shannon Maier hit two medium range jumpers and Tiffany Sayres connected on a trey to cut the Indians lead to three, 23-20, at the half.
The Indians (5-4 overall and 3-2 in Big 10 play) continued to hold on to the lead in the third period due to the inside play of Peggy Scott. Scott used two impressive power moves and scored six points to give BHS a 35-30 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.
However, Bridgeport went cold in the fourth canto, making only two field goals. This gave the Bearcats the opportunity for a comeback.
GHS trailed 39-36 with under a minute to play when Shils Villaraza made two free throws and Maier converted one-of-two to send the game to overtime tied at 39-apiece.
In the overtime segment, Maier gave Grafton its first lead of the game when she converted an offensive rebound for a hoop with 1:42 left. The Indians could not get anything going in the extra session due to turnovers and Maier iced the win on two free throws with 22.7 seconds remaining for a 44-41 lead.
Villaraza led three Grafton double-figure scorers with 12 points followed by Maier and Sayres with 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Scott also netted double digits for the Indians with 12 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Grafton (45)
Sayres 2 5-6 10; Villaraza 4 4-6 12; Bias 2 0-0 4; Maier 4 3-4 11; Sansbury 2 0-1 4; Bolyard 2 0-0 4; Totals 16 12-17 45.
Bridgeport (42)
Queen 5 0-1 12; Flesher 2 2-4 6; Horne 1 0-0 2; Wilson 1 4-7 6; Scott 5 2-2 12; Amodio 1 0-0 2; Guzzi 1 0-0 2; Totals 16 8-14 42.
Grafton
4
16
10
9
6_45
Bridgeport
11
12
12
4
3_42
3-Point Goals:
_ Sayres, Queen 2.
Updated January 13, 1997
Yertzell, Critchfield Lead
R.C. Byrd by Preston, 62-43
Leah Yertzell fired in a game-high 18 points, including five 3-pointers, and freshman Katie Critchfield came off of the bench to add 14 as Robert C. Byrd claimed its third win in a row by crushing Big 10 rival Preston 62-43 in girls Big 10 basketball action.
The Eagles (4-6, 4-2) jumped out to an early 16-6 lead after one period of play as Critchfield collected seven points in the quarter.
RCB kept its offense rolling in the second quarter when Yertzell canned a trey from the right wing to give the hosts a 23-8 lead early in the period.
After two April Sisler free throws cut the Eagle lead to 11 at 23-12, Yertzell came up big by burying a trey along with Jennifer Gray's two 3-pointers to highlight an 11-5 run to end the half as RCB took a 34-17 lead into intermission.
"I really think that we frustrated them (Preston) with our ball movement," commented RCB head coach Bill Bennett. "I told the girls that I didn't want to diminish our offense, but defense and rebounding win games and by us being able to do that, we were able to take them out of their game."
After halftime, the Knights only comeback effort came when Sisler connected on a 15-footer to make the score 40-24 in favor of the Eagles with 3:30 remaining in the canto.
However, RCB's Alicia Stickle thwarted the run by scoring on an inside hoop off of one of Kyle Veltri's game-high 13 assists as the Eagles went on to take a comfortable 47-28 lead into the fourth.
"She (Veltri) isn't the quickest or the best jumper, but Kyle plays like a bulldog and always plays her guts out," remarked Bennett. "Not only was she finding the open player all night, but she was able to shut down Helms (Mandy) and that was a big part of our game plan."
Preston cut the lead to 15 in the final quarter at 50-35 on Helms' jumper, but Yertzell once again played spoiler to the Knights by hitting a triple from the right corner to keep the Eagle offense going.
RCB built a 20-point lead when Veltri dished off to an open Critchfield who hit the lay-up and was fouled for a three-point play as the scoreboard showed a 56-36 lead with 2:40 remaining in the contest.
RCB used its bench the rest of the way and was never seriously threatened for the remainder of the contest.
"This was a great team defense game for us," said Bennett. "We didn't allow them to run the things that they normally do and I felt we executed very well on both ends of the floor."
Preston was led by Helms' nine points.
Preston (43)
Helms 4 0-0 9; Martin 0 1-2 1; Riley 2 0-0 4; Ranieri 1 1-2 4; Sisler 1 2-2 4; Steiringer 4 0-2 8; Groves 2 0-0 4; Sypolt 1 3-6 5; Baker 2 0-0 4; Gibbs 0 0-2 0; Totals 17 7-16 43.
Robert C. Byrd (62)
Critchfield 6 2-3 14; Veltri 2 0-0 4; Elder 0 2-2 2; Gray 2 2-2 8; Yertzell 6 1-2 18; Stickle 1 0-0 2; Secret 3 0-0 6; Waugaman 4 0-1 8; Totals 24 7-10 62.
Preston
6
11
11
15_43
Robert C.
Byrd
16
18
13
15_62
3-Point Goals:
Helms, Ranieri, Gray 2, Yertzell 5.
Updated January 13, 1997
Role Players Decided Outcome
Of Class AA Girls Showdown
SHINNSTON _ Everyone knew coming into the Tucker County-Lincoln contest Friday night that Tucker's Chrissy Foreman and Chandra Nelson and the Cougars' Chrissy Luchuck and Stacey Lambert were the teams' top offensive weapons.
But, what everyone found out quickly is that both teams are far from being reliant on just their stars. Basketball is a game of five players and it is the role players that are usually the deciding factor in battles of two top-ranked teams.
The role players were the deciding factor for the Mountain Lions as Sarah Hamrick, Nikki Nelson and Alisha McCune were just too much for Lincoln.
Hamrick, a guard, finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and kept the Cougars honest with her outside shooting.
N. Nelson, a forward and the sister of Chandra, led all scorers with 23 points with the majority of her points coming in the decisive fourth quarter.
McCune, a guard in the Mountain Lions' three-guard offense, grabbed seven rebounds and played solid defense.
"Well, actually they have been playing like that all year," said TC coach David Kyle. "We have four kids that average in double digits and Hamrick and Nikki Nelson have been right there scoring. McCune has grabbed six or seven rebounds a game.
"I wasn't real pleased with their play in the first three periods but I wasn't really worried because I knew they would step up. Chrissy and Chandra have done it the past three years and I knew it would be a matter of time for them (along with Hamrick, N.Nelson and McCune) to get the job done."
Lincoln coach Jeff Osbourn was also pleased as some of his younger players stepped up to the task of handling the more experienced Tucker County team.
"I felt everybody that went on the floor gave me 100 percent," said an upbeat Osbourn. "We have a 100 percent rule which is you go out on the floor and you give a 100 percent and we got that tonight.
"It was a tremendous ball game and we just ran out of gas."
Freshmen Tabitha Hutson and Teresa Medina, along with Jessica Barron, Jessica Morris and Tiffany Pierce, handled their first test of top-ranked competition well.
Hutson, who handled the point guard position, finished with 10 points, dished out 11 assists, grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals.
Medina's offensive board play kept the Cougars alive early in the game while Barron and Morris grabbed five and four rebounds, respectively, and played solid defense. Pierce came off the bench to score eight markers and grab three boards.
"They (Hutson, Medina, Pierce and Barron) played real well," stated Osbourn. "Morris hadn't played much but we put her in because she's a great athlete.
"But I'm real pleased with the outcome and everybody got their money's worth. And I think we made a statement tonight that we can play with a team (like Tucker) as talented as they are."
Updated January 13, 1997
No. 1 Tucker County Visits
No. 8 Lincoln This Evening
SHINNSTON _ The Lincoln girls basketball team believes it has a legitimate chance of knocking off Class AA No. 1 Tucker County (8-0) when it hosts the Mountain Lions tonight at 7:30. But, the No. 8 Cougars (8-0) know it won't be easy.
"They are very talented and big," said Lincoln coach Jeff Osbourn, who scouted the Mountain Lions on Wednesday. "They have a nice team, but we already knew that.
"It's a situation where we have nothing to lose. We have no pressure on us because they are the best team in the state. But, we're optimistic.
"You can't go in there and play afraid," added Osbourn. "We're going to try to do some things they aren't used to seeing. They always like to dictate the tempo. Maybe we can try to dictate the tempo to them."
It's been a long time since anyone has been able to dictate anything to Tucker, a team riding the crest of a 33-game winning streak and a state championship. Over the past 3\4 seasons Tucker is an amazing 78-8.
The Mountain Lions' talent starts in the backcourt where point guard Chrissy Foreman is regarded as one of the premier players in the state. She's already signed with Division I East Tennessee State University.
Sara Hamrick starts at the shooting guard slot. She's a 5-8 junior who is a solid player, according to Osbourn.
Up front, the Mountain Lions rely on the Nelsons _ Chandra and Nikki _ to control the action. Chandra, a senior who has signed with Pennsylvania, is a 6-2 forward-center while Nikki is a 5-11 sophomore post player.
"That one Nelson girl has got to be 6-4 and they are both very, very good," said Osbourn. "They like to shut opponents totally off the boards."
And that could be a problem for the much smaller Cougars who don't have a player on their roster that is six-foot tall. In fact, Jody Lambert, a sophomore reserve forward is listed at 5-11 with the biggest starters being her older sister Stacey, a 5-9 senior forward, and Jessica Barron, a 5-9 sophomore center.
"The keys for us will be breaking their pressure and keeping them off the boards so we can keep them from getting out in transition," said Osbourn. "They are big, but they like to run.
"We have to be able to rebound and we have to be able to shoot the ball decently."
The Cougars will look to seniors Lambert and Chrissy Luchuck for leadership and points.
Luchuck is averaging 15.8 points per game and is the sparkplug of the Cougars' aggressive defense. Lambert averages 10.7 points and is one of the team's top rebounders.
After those two, LHS's attack is extremely young as the sophomore Barron is joined by two freshmen, 5-8 point guard Tabitha Hutson and 5-7 forward Teresa Medina.
Hutson is the team's second leading scorer as she averages 11.3 points per game. She's also an excellent passer.
Medina chips in 9.4 points per game, possesses excellent shooting skills and can also go inside.
Like the Mountain Lions, the Cougars have plenty of depth as nine other players have made varsity appearances.
Osbourn and his team are hoping the difference could be home court advantage.
"I think the place will be rocking," said Luchuck of the expected crowd. "Everybody says they're coming."
"I think the crowd will be great and will be behind us," said Stacey Lambert. "We're expecting a great turnout."
Osbourn, a veteran mentor, knows emotion can play a major part in the outcome of any game.
"I think it will be a tremendous crowd," said Osbourn. "I'm sure Tucker will bring some people and everybody I've talked to says they are coming.
"Hopefully
we'll play off that emotion and can weather the storm early because I'm sure they'll come ready to play and will try to get out on us. But, the longer we can hang around the better our chances."
Updated January 13, 1997
No. 1 Tucker County Visit
No. 8 Lincoln This Evening
SHINNSTON _ The Lincoln girls basketball team believes it has a legitimate chance of knocking off Class AA No. 1 Tucker County (8-0) when it hosts the Mountain Lions tonight at 7:30. But, the No. 8 Cougars (8-0) know it won't be easy.
"They are very talented and big," said Lincoln coach Jeff Osbourn, who scouted the Mountain Lions on Wednesday. "They have a nice team, but we already knew that.
"It's a situation where we have nothing to lose. We have no pressure on us because they are the best team in the state. But, we're optimistic.
"You can't go in there and play afraid," added Osbourn. "We're going to try to do some things they aren't used to seeing. They always like to dictate the tempo. Maybe we can try to dictate the tempo to them."
It's been a long time since anyone has been able to dictate anything to Tucker, a team riding the crest of a 33-game winning streak and a state championship. Over the past 3\4 seasons Tucker is an amazing 78-8.
The Mountain Lions' talent starts in the backcourt where point guard Chrissy Foreman is regarded as one of the premier players in the state. She's already signed with Division I East Tennessee State University.
Sara Hamrick starts at the shooting guard slot. She's a 5-8 junior who is a solid player, according to Osbourn.
Up front, the Mountain Lions rely on the Nelsons _ Chandra and Nikki _ to control the action. Chandra, a senior who has signed with Pennsylvania, is a 6-2 forward-center while Nikki is a 5-11 sophomore post player.
"That one Nelson girl has got to be 6-4 and they are both very, very good," said Osbourn. "They like to shut opponents totally off the boards."
And that could be a problem for the much smaller Cougars who don't have a player on their roster that is six-foot tall. In fact, Jody Lambert, a sophomore reserve forward is listed at 5-11 with the biggest starters being her older sister Stacey, a 5-9 senior forward, and Jessica Barron, a 5-9 sophomore center.
"The keys for us will be breaking their pressure and keeping them off the boards so we can keep them from getting out in transition," said Osbourn. "They are big, but they like to run.
"We have to be able to rebound and we have to be able to shoot the ball decently."
The Cougars will look to seniors Lambert and Chrissy Luchuck for leadership and points.
Luchuck is averaging 15.8 points per game and is the sparkplug of the Cougars' aggressive defense. Lambert averages 10.7 points and is one of the team's top rebounders.
After those two, LHS's attack is extremely young as the sophomore Barron is joined by two freshmen, 5-8 point guard Tabitha Hutson and 5-7 forward Teresa Medina.
Hutson is the team's second leading scorer as she averages 11.3 points per game. She's also an excellent passer.
Medina chips in 9.4 points per game, possesses excellent shooting skills and can also go inside.
Like the Mountain Lions, the Cougars have plenty of depth as nine other players have made varsity appearances.
Osbourn and his team are hoping the difference could be home court advantage.
"I think the place will be rocking," said Luchuck of the expected crowd. "Everybody says they're coming."
"I think the crowd will be great and will be behind us," said Stacey Lambert. "We're expecting a great turnout."
Osbourn, a veteran mentor, knows emotion can play a major part in the outcome of any game.
"I think it will be a tremendous crowd," said Osbourn. "I'm sure Tucker will bring some people and everybody I've talked to says they are coming.
"Hopefully
we'll play off that emotion and can weather the storm early because I'm sure they'll come ready to play and will try to get out on us. But, the longer we can hang around the better our chances."
Updated January 13, 1997
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