Lady Foxes Set To Appear
In Sectional Final
by Don Hill
(Reprinted McLeansboro Times-Leader February 19, 1987)
The McLeansboro Lady Foxes followed the game plan of their coach to the letter Tuesday night and swamped the Co-Pilots of Cario in the opening round of the Anna-Jonesboro Sectional, 73-34.
"I told them before the game that they needed to jump out early and take them out of their game," Coach Willie Grubb said. "And that's what they did."
The Lady Foxes more than equalled their previous two meetings with the Co-Pilots as they rolled to the 39-point win after topping Cairo twice this season by margins of 32 and 27 points.
The win sent the Lady Foxes into the sectional finals against Cobden as the Lady Appleknockers rolled past Johnston City in their match 68-41.
That sets up a Lady Foxes Appleknocker championship game tonight at A-J. The Lady Foxes enter the contest with a 24-2 record and the ninth ranking in the state while Cobden comes in at 20-4.
The Lady Foxes were never seriously threatened by the Co-Pilots in the last game of the evening as they jumped to a 19-10 first-quarter lead and never looked back as the Lady Foxes took complete control of the contest in the second period.
A 21-8 second period sealed the fate of the Co-Pilots as the Lady Foxes gradually put the Cairo squad away and then ended all hope with a late spurt in the period.
Senior Kerri Grubb got the Lady Foxes off to a good start in the period as she completed a three-point play for a 22-10 lead. Another bucket by Grubb and a smooth jumper by Tina Thomas added to the lead.
Two more Lady Foxes got into the act as Denise Bowers picked off an errant pass and fed Lori Kirsch steaking down the floor for a layup. With the Co-Pilots hanging in there at 34-18, the end came swiftly as three quick buckets by the Lady Foxes saw the lead balloon to 40-18 by the end of the period.
A blocked shot by Wendy Wingo off the bench to the first basket as Sharon Bowman got loose for two. A Bowman steal got Kirsch two more and a length of the court pass late Bowman add the capper for the Lady Foxes.
The lead jumped to 40 points on several occassions late in the contest as Grubb saw his JV team come off the bench and more than hold its own with the girls in blue. The loss sent the Co-Pilots home for the season with a 14-12 record.
The pressure defense by the ladies in green was the key to the contest as the squad from Cairo was forced into 26 turnovers with 17 of them recorded as steals by the Lady Foxes.
The Lady Foxes used the thievery to convert easy buckets on the offensive end romp in this one.
The Lady Foxes also used some sharp shooting to eliminate the Co-Pilots as they hit 33 of 56 from the floor for 59 percent. The percentage from the field topped the Lady Foxes' effort from the charity stripe as they hit seven of 12 for 58 percent on the free ones.
The Co-Pilots were not hitting bulls'-eyes as they canned only 17 of 46 attempts in the game as the man defense put on by the ladies forced the Co-Pilots into some poor shot selections. The total came to 37 percent for the Cairo squad which never took a free throw in the game.
Leading the way for the Lady Foxes was Grubb with 19 points as she hit nine of 12 from the field for 75 percent, most from in close. Kirsch added 15 to the effort as Wingo also turned in one of her best varisty efforts of the season as she dominated inside late in the contest for 12 points.
Bowman stayed deadly from the baseline with 10 while Thomas showed signs of coming out of a shooting slump by adding eight. Kim Parker added three while Bowers had two; Paula Mitchell, 2; and Deanna Smith, 2.
The Co-Pilots were led by 10 each from Joette Oliver and Sheila Brown. Margina Holder added eight, Anujanette Dillar, 2; Monica Noland, 2; and Lisa Childs, 2.
The Lady Foxes will face sharp-shooting Cobden in the finals as the Lady Appleknockers used 66 percent shooting to roll past Johnston City in the opener.
The Lady Appleknockers sprinted out early in the contest and built an 11-6 first quarter lead. The second period did the real damage as Michelle Aldridge and Lucinda Betts spurred a 22-7 scoring surge which saw the lead balloon to 20 by halftime.
The offense took over the final two periods as the 2-1-2 put on by the Lady Indians was ineffective against the outside shooting from Cobden. 5-4 Tammy Garner led the attack from outside as she scored 20 points in the contest. Joining the effort was Aldridge, 14; Betts, 13; Tammy Smith, 9; Tammy Gurley, 8; and Becky Tally, 4.
Johnston City was led by Debbie Farthing with 16 points and bowed out at 13-6 on the year. The winner of the game tonight will continue on to the Eldorado Super-Sectional and face the winner of the Nashville Sectional Monday night at 7:00 p.m.
Reprinted by permission from McLeansboro Times-Leader - June 17, 1999 by Ryan Nelson
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