LADY HAWKS ADVANCE!
The East girls basketball team keeps on rolling with their 63-46 victory over Mt. Healthy in the first round of the Sectional tournament at Harrison. The Hawks jumped out to a 36-13 halftime lead and held off the Owls comeback bid in the 2nd half. East super soph Whitney Wyckoff led all scorers with 21 points. Alyssa Grevenkamp notched 12 and Molly Blomer added 11.
East will battle #13th seed Harrison at Kings on Saturday at 2:30 PM. The Lady Hawks have never won more than one postseason game. Their current records stands at an all-time best of 11-10.
Lakota East's Whitney Wyckoff (21) shoots over Mount Healthy's Ke Ke Williams (32) in the second period of their game in Harrison.
Nikki Drew is in her first season as girls basketball coach at Lakota East. But after spending six years as head coach at Colerain, she's hardly a rookie.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the same cannot be said this season for the Thunderhawks, who have only three seniors on their roster, there's no better time for a young team to gel than in the postseason.
On Thursday night, No. 14 seed Lakota East performed more like a veteran group, holding off a second-half rally by 15th-seed Mount Healthy then rolling to a 63-46 victory in a Division I sectional matchup played at Harrison.
• Photos: Thunderhawks 63, Owls 46
"I don't think we're getting enough credit in this area, but I like it," said Drew. "We have nothing to lose. I give credit to Mount Healthy, they didn't want their season to end. It was very important that our players knew (at halftime) that Mount Healthy was not going to give up."
East sophomore Whitney Wyckoff led all scorers with 21 points.
Alyssa Grevenkamp had 12 and Molly Blomer added 11 for the Thunderhawks who advance to face 13th-seed Harrison at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Kings.
The Thunderhawks, at 11-10, are enjoying their most successful season in school history.
Mount Healthy was led by Jonessa Moore who scored 14 points. SaCoya Ellery added 11 points.
The Owls outscored East by six points in the second half after trailing 36-13 at halftime.
"We wish we had the first half back," said interim Owls head coach April Simmons. "We just needed to calm down. We took much better care of the basketball in the second half."
Simmons replaced head coach Kevin Grant, who was not with the team for undisclosed reasons.
East started three sophomores and a freshman in Thursday night's game. Page Mayberry was the only senior starter.
Grevenkamp's steal and layup put the Thunderhawks ahead 12-6. Two free throws by Wyckoff gave East its largest lead, 16-6.
The Owls played inspired early in the second half, scoring the first six points to trim the deficit to 17 points.
Mount Healthy scored 19 points in the third quarter, but East managed to prevent the Owls from making any extended rallies.
A driving layup by Grevenkamp made the score 47-26 late in the third quarter.
Two free throws by Amber Kidd put the Thunderhawks ahead 51-28.
But, a layup by Moore cut East's lead to 53-39 with 5:33 remaining.
Again, it was Wyckoff making key plays for East. She had two free throws and a layup during a 6-0 run which put the Thunderhawks ahead 59-40 with 3:15 left.
"Once we got over the shock of their pressure defense, we were fine," Wyckoff said. "We had to start attacking the pressure. This win is one step toward our goal of playing four tournament games."
Lakota East (11-10) - Outlaw 1 2 4, Grevenkamp 5 1 12, Wyckoff 6 7 21, Mayberry 0 1 1, Blomer 5 0 11, Zieverink 1 0 2, Kidd 1 2 4, Pashi 1 2 4, Boice 2 0 4. Totals: 22 15 63.
Mount Healthy (14-7) - Wallace 2 0 4, Henschen 1 0 2, Ellery 3 5 11, Moore 5 4 14, Williams 4 0 8, A. Borden 2 0 4, C. Borden 0 1 1, DeVaugh 0 2 2. Totals: 17 12 46.
Mount Healthy 10 3 19 14 - 46
Lakota East 19 17 15 12 - 63
3-pointers: L 4 (Blomer 1, Wyckoff 2, Grevenkamp 1.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100218/SPT0301/2190374/
ReplyDeleteTo see Whit's 2009-2010 season numbers:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gmcsports.com/bkPlayerStats.aspx?player=93625