Ladies Did The Kicking
Against Wildcats
by Don Hill
(Reprinted McLeansboro Times-Leader March 5, 1987)
READY FOR ACTION - The Lady Foxes were primed and ready as they prepared to leave the tunnel onto the floor at Assembly Hall for the first time Thursday night. The trek was successful as they topped Luther North 52-46. |
Thursday night, the Lady Foxes used a perfect example of mind over matter in their first-round game against Chicago Luther North in the Elite Eight quarterfinals at Champaign.
As it turned out, the Lady Foxes did not mind what bad been said of them in the northern papers and by the scouts. It also didn’t matter as they bounced back from an 8-2 first-quarter deficit to stun the Wildcats of Luther North 52-46.
The victory was not only one of the shockers of the first days festivities, but was especially sweet for the team and coach Willie Grubb.
All the scouting reports from up North said that they were going to kick our butts," Grubb said. "They had two animals inside."
But as many other things to do with the sporting world sometimes happen, the reports failed to mention a few key points. One of the big points left from the report was the 5-10 frame of junior Tina Thomas.
Thomas had two points in the contest and three rebounds which indicated that she was not a major factor in the game. Don’t you believe it. Thomas was on Robin Haseman, the 6-0 leader of the Wildcats from the opening gun and took her out of the offense for much of the contest.
"Tina Is a good offensive ball player," Grubb said. "About 10 or 12 games ago, she went into a shooting slump and it may have helped her. She knew she had to play defense and rebound."
Thomas used the skills she had learned to help her team take control of the contest midway through the opening game for both clubs. While Haseman ended the game with 20 points, numerous turnovers occurred as her teammates tried to force the ball inside to her.
While Thomas was getting the job done defensively, Kerri Gruhb and Lori Kirsch took over offensively. Kirsch picked up right where she had left off earlier in the season as she used her quickness to drive the mddle for some layups.
SHAKING IT OFF - Senior Kerri Grubb tries to shake off the effects of a finger in the eye in action Saturday afternoon at Assembly Hall. |
When the middle was sealed up, she pulled up and canned the 18-footers from the outside. With the outside game clicking, Grubb was more than the Wildcats could handle one-on-one inside.
The 5-9 senior scored 14 points from inside the paint as she simply took it to the inside people for the Wildcats. Denise Bowers also proved to be a big plus as she led the squad with five rebounds against some overwhelming odds inside the paint and dished out three assists for her teammates.
While assists are a must for a successful team, they are generally overlooked in the statistical end of the game. But they were a big key in this one.
While the Lady Foxes were using crisp passing to get the ball to the open man, North was forcing the ball toward the hoop with players trying to go one-on-one with the sticky man defense the Lady Foxes play. The ploy was a dismal failure.
The Lady Foxes also plugged up the passing lanes for the Cats, something the Lady Foxes have done all season.
"We knew when No. 51 (Hasemann) got the board, she would look to kick it out," Grubb said. "When she turned to kick it out tonight, all she saw was green."
After finding themselves behind 8-2 early, Kirsch got a three-point play on an offensive board to pull the Lady Foxes within three.
Sharon Bowman made her presence known on the following trip as the Lady Foxes used their passing game to get her open for that familiar baseline jumper. The Lady Foxes were never able to take the lead until early in the second period. At 7:17, Grubb went to the offensive glass and banked home a putback for an 11-10 lead.
Kristen Andersen got a five-footer to give her club a 16-15 lead with 4:25 remaining in the second period, but it was the end of the line for the Wildcats.
Sparked by the three seniors, Grubb, Kirsch and Bowman, the Lady Foxes went on a 12-0 run in the final four minutes to take a 27-16 lead at the break. The Lady Foxes would never relinquish the lead after that.
The run was spurred by offensive board work as the Lady Foxes outboarded the Cats during the run 4-0. Hasemann had moved onto the baseline to try and stop Kirsch and with the tactic, the 6-footer was taken out of rebounding range.
The Lady Foxes maintained the advantage for much of the contest and took their biggest lead of the game at the 35 second mark of the third period when Bowers went to the glass for a layup.
The six-point margin was the closest the Wildcats could get after that.
"We played that sagging man-to-man defense," Grubb said. "We play the same kind of defense as the boys do. We don’t have anything down there but basketball."
Grubb also said he wasn’t too concerned when the Wildcats jumped to the 8-2 lead.
"A team that runs up and down the floor is going to let you back in the games," Grubb added. "Bowers and Sloan ran the offense well. Its just a matter of getting the kids to do what they can do."
The win earned the Lady Foxes a berth in the final four as the loss sent the Wildcats home early with a 27-2 record. Kirsch was the leading scorer in the game with 24 points as Grubb added 14 and Bowman 10 for the Lady Foxes.
| Quarter-Finals |
| SCORE BY QUARTERS |
| LadyFoxes | 9 | 18 | 12 | l3 | Final 52 |
| Wildcats | 10 | 6 | 11 | 19 | Final 46 |
|
| Lady Foxes | FG | FT | PF | TP |
| Bowman | 5-9 | 0-2 | 1 | 10 |
| Thomas | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Grubb | 7-16 | 0-0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bowers | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kirsch | 10-16 | 4-5 | 3 | 24 |
| Sloan | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Totals | 24-48 | 4-7 | 9 | 52 |
|
| Luther North | FG | FT | PF | TP |
| Hohnbaum | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haseman | 8-12 | 4-4 | 0 | 20 |
| Steward | 4-8 | hl-2 | 3 | 9 |
| Christensen | 4-6 | 1-1 | 3 | 9 |
| Korff | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 |
| Anderson | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 |
| Stieve | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mack | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 20-39 | 6-7 | 7 | 46 |
Rebounds:
Lady Foxes (20) -- Bowers, 5; Grubh, 4; Kirsch, 3; Thomas, 3; Bowman, 2.
Luther North: (23) -- Hasemann, 12; Christensen, 4; Steward, 3; Andersen, 2; Korff, 1; Mack, 1.
Turnovers: Lady Foxes 10 -- North, 16.
Reprinted by permission from McLeansboro Times-Leader - June 17, 1999 by Ryan Nelson
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