Stay Connected with YourSeason
Girls Basketball: West Side falls in Gary Holiday Tournament final
Updated: December 29, 2011 12:08AM
GARY — West Side fought back from a halftime deficit, but its efforts weren’t enough to catch Chicago Marshall, who claimed the championship game of the Gary Holiday Tournament with a 56-53 victory over the Cougars.
“We definitely played better in the second half,” said West Side coach Rod Fisher. “But at critical times in the game we turned the ball over or we missed free throws. They didn’t do that.”
In the second half, Marshall hit 11 of their 13 free-throw attempts — points that carried an offense which committed 11 turnovers in the third quarter alone.
“We work on those a lot. It hasn’t sunk in for our team just how important those are,” said Marshall head coach Dorothy Gaters. “You have to make your free throws in a close game.”
Down by two with 18 seconds remaining, West Side’s Ashley Danzy had an open look from 15 feet out, but her shot was off the mark. The ensuing rebound resulted in a jump ball with the possession arrow pointing in Marshall’s direction, ending the Cougars’ comeback bid.
The game started in similar fashion to its conclusion, with both teams trading baskets. Danzy was the biggest story of the first quarter, hitting a trio of 3-pointers to lead her team early.
“That’s her job. She’s the best shooter we have,” Fisher said. “Fortunately, they were falling in the first quarter.”
The Cougars’ offense cooled in the second quarter, as West Side comitted 10 turnovers and allowed Marshall to take a 32-25 lead into the half. West Side also struggled on defense, frequently allowing Marshall to pull down offensive rebounds for second-chance points.
“Our post players aren’t aggressive enough and a lot of the time we only try to rebound with three players instead of all five,” Fisher said. “And right now, we aren’t doing a very good job of boxing out. The boards hurt us, for sure.”
In the third quarter, West Side’s Mariah Hopkins scored six points to help get the Cougars back in the game. Marshall still held a 43-40 lead after three periods, though, thanks to a perfect 7-of-7 performance from the free-throw line.
Hopkins and Danzy finished with 11 points each to lead the Cougars, while Apiphany Woods and Marquiesha Grant each scored 15 points for Marshall.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment