Lady Rebels shake off cold shooting for victory
Published 12:00 am Monday, January 17, 2005
NATCHEZ &045; If they could shoot, it wouldn’t have even been close.
Sadly, that wasn’t meant to be.
The Adams Christian girls got a 36-30 win over Riverfield Tuesday night, but it wasn’t because the Lady Rebels played well. Countless missed shots, particularly in a first quarter in which they managed just 5 points, almost cost AC the game.
&uot;We couldn’t pay a shot to go in for us,&uot; AC’s Katie Ann Swinny said.
Lady Rebels head coach John Gray summed it up in a single word: &uot;Awful.&uot;
AC’s poor shooting resulted in a 21-14 halftime deficit and a big challenge for the Lady Rebels to overcome.
Riverfield trailed 29-23 going into the fourth quarter but two quick baskets by Kelsie Cheek, the result of two Lady Rebels turnovers, closed the gap to just two points. From there, AC scored seven unanswered points to all but seal the game. Riverfield’s Cathy Antley hit a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining, the game’s final score.
The Lady Rebels moved to a full-court press after halftime, a change that proved to be the difference. Riverfield repeatedly turned the ball over, giving Adams Christian a chance to come back.
&uot;Our defense won the ball game,&uot; Gray said. &uot;When we went to the full-court press in the second half, that got us the win.&uot;
Adams Christian (4-1, 15-5) came out with the full-court press to start the second half, forcing the Riverfield ballhandlers, particularly freshman point guard Kelsie Cheek, to make poor decisions with the ball.
The Lady Rebels went on a 15-2 run spanning the length of the third quarter that gave AC a 29-23 lead heading into the final quarter.
Spearheading the defense was guard Brittany Gamberi, who made up for a poor night shooting with her stellar defensive play and what Swinny described as a moving motivational speech at halftime.
&uot;Gamberi stepped it up. Her heart kept us in the game,&uot; Swinny said. &uot;The bench also helped a lot, some people that don’t normally play that much.&uot;
Swinny had a nice game as well, leading all scorers with 11 points, seven of them during the third quarter run that basically won the game for the Lady Rebels.
Riverfield (3-2, 16-5) head coach Cleo Head agreed with Gray’s assessment of the Lady Rebel’s defense.
&uot;It was just a lack of execution,&uot; Head said. &uot;We practiced against the full-court press all week, but we didn’t do what we were supposed to tonight.&uot;
The first half featured plenty of turnovers from Riverfield, but the Lady Raiders overcame that somewhat with good shooting and poor play from the Lady Rebels.
Riverfield led 6-5 at the end of an awful first quarter for both teams.
In the second period, the Lady Raiders got a huge boost from the play of Mary Barthel. Barthel scored seven points during a 12-7 run that gave Riverfield the first sizable lead for either team, a 21-14 advantage the Lady Raiders took into halftime.
During that first half, the Lady Rebels even missed several fast-break layups that weren’t contested, leading to plenty of frustration for players and coach Gray alike.
&uot;We have nights where we can’t make a goal,&uot; Gray said. &uot;The last two games we played well offensively, but tonight Š&uot;