Shepard continues roll against Eisenhower

Updated: March 23, 2011 2:02PM

It will be David vs. Goliath on Wednesday night when Shepard hosts No. 4 Marist in a Class 4A regional semifinal.

Goliath might be advised to avoid looking over any shoulders.

David is on quite a roll.

Shepard's 41-32 victory over Eisenhower in a regional opener Monday was the Astros' seventh win in a row.

"We are definitely building up," Shepard sophomore Amanda Weiss said. "It's nice winning them all in a row. If we could have won one more we could have been conference champs (in the South Suburban Red). But this is nice. Hopefully we can keep it up."

Jamila McClinton led the way for Shepard (12-14) with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Raynisha Dent (7 points, 8 rebounds), Weiss (7 points) and Jessica Chaput (6 points) also starred for the Astros.

Shavonne Lewis had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Kayla Scoggins 10 points for Eisenhower (8-17).

Shepard threw an effective early knockdown punch, as all five starters scored during an 18-6 first quarter.

"Yeah, that was nice leading off with 18 points in the first," Weiss said. "We hit it good."

Later, it was defense that kept Eisenhower from making any serious moves. Only twice in the second half did the Astros allow points on back-to-back possessions. The Cardinals never got closer than seven points.

"We definitely wanted to focus on our defense because that's our strong point," McClinton said. "We wanted to limit their points, keep it under 40, and like coach (Rick Mundo) says that usually gets a victory for us."

McClinton was tough on the boards and getting to them. She employed a nifty spin move several times for layups.

"That's pretty much standard practice," Mundo said. "We expect that from her. We're always looking for her to have a double-double. She's our go-to person.

"The best part is that this is really and truly a team. We don't have anybody with gaudy stats. Everybody does a little something on offense and defense. Everybody contributes. It's truly a team."

One that will bring a pretty impressive head of steam into what appears to be mission impossible.

"It's definitely going to be tough playing Marist," McClinton said. "But we're going to come out hard and try to play our game and focus on our defense like we do every game."

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