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Girls Basketball: Richards outlasts Shepard
Updated: February 2, 2012 9:37PM
Richards moved another step closer to its third straight South Suburban Red title Thursday night, but it didn’t happen without breaking a sweat.
Shepard, two starters short, ferociously battled for the better part of two quarters. Richards put the hammer down, however, in the third period and prevailed 63-43.
Hannah Jenkins led the way for the Bulldogs (13-8, 7-4) with 17 points. Brianna LeBeau added 15 points and seven rebounds and Sam Kusta 12 points.
Shepard (6-17, 2-10) was led by Myrissha Mitchell (14 points), Alyssa Braun (11 points) and Jessica Chaput (10 points, 13 rebounds).
Richards can clinch a tie for the conference crown with a win Tuesday at Eisenhower. The Bulldogs close the regular season Thursday at Reavis.
“I’m really excited about it,” Jenkins said. “It’s an incredible feeling to know that we’re so close to getting it. And to be the first (girls basketball) team to get three in a row would be awesome.”
Shepard, missing point guard Amanda Weiss (mono) and 5-foot-11 center Nikki Nichols (wrist), surprised the Bulldogs early, racing to a 10-3 led, the keys a three-pointer by Alyssa Braun and a three-point play by Chaput.
Richards, which missed its first six shots, finally starting clicking as Jenkins and Sam Kusta struck for three-pointers. The Bulldogs led 17-13 after one period.
LeBeau, who sat the last few minutes of the first quarter with two fouls, opened the second with a three-point play, and the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 13.
Shepard again, however, got hot from the beyond arc, with Braun hitting two and Mitchell one to get to within eight. Nicole Ellement hit a three and a two to help Richards emerge with a 10-point halftime edge.
“I watched a lot of film before this because I knew Richards would come out hard,” Ellement said. “It’s competition, that’s what it is. And it’s in the district. I stayed in practice shooting forever for this. I guess that three-pointer boosted our confidence and got a lot of people going.”
Richards outscored Shepard 16-2 in the third period to ease the tension.
“The kids came out knowing that we had to give them a blast right out of the gate in the first quarter, and we did that,” Shepard coach Rick Mundo said. “We had our best practice of the season (Wednesday), and it translated into just about halftime tonight.
“The bottom line is, we’re hurt, we’re beat up, we’re young, but other than that, everything’s great.”
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