Adams claims 3-AA
Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 5, 2006
PORT GIBSON &8212; Things couldn&8217;t have gone much worse for Prairie View. The clock showed just over a minute left in the half, and the Lady Spartans had just five points here in the District 3-AA tournament championship.
And it wasn&8217;t one of those can&8217;t-throw-it-in-the-ocean nights, either.
Shots at the basket were few and far between for a good three quarters Saturday against Adams Christian&8217;s full-court pressure defense, and the score would indicate it. Save for a fourth-quarter flurry that made it closer than it would appear, Adams Christian&8217;s defense was the key reason it claimed a 52-32 win for the 3-AA tournament title.
Just the way they set out to do.
&8220;We went over (our press) in practice after practice,&8221; said senior guard Brittany Gamberi, named tournament MVP. &8220;It was our regular press but right when they got the ball in we were supposed to guard No. 10. It worked well. We played them twice, and we knew exactly what they were doing to do.&8221;
That No. 10 was sparkplug eighth-grader Caroline Oliphant, who the Lady Rebels keyed on for most of the game and kept in check until foul trouble put some of their starters on the bench in the fourth quarter.
But Adams led 39-15 at the end of the third quarter. Prairie View scored 17 points in the fourth quarter alone &8212; nine from Oliphant &8212; but couldn&8217;t overcome the 24-point deficit.
The win was the second straight 3-AA title sweep of regular season and tournament titles for the Lady Rebels. South State tournament is scheduled to begin Tuesday at Columbia.
&8220;We really did a good job defensively, and the full-court press was outstanding,&8221; AC head coach John R. Gray said. &8220;I thought we got real sloppy when we had to mix our lineup when we got in foul trouble. What I&8217;m proud of is this team has won back-to-back district tournament championships. That was one of our goals, and our next goal is to make it to the next level after this one.&8221;
Oliphant and the Lady Spartans cut the deficit some in the fourth quarter and kept things interesting for the first three minutes before the Lady Rebels hit some free throws to put the game away. Randi Farrar converted a three-point play before Oliphant did the same two minutes apart to highlight an 11-2 PVA run.
Oliphant&8217;s three-point play cut the deficit to 43-26. Katie Ann Swinny then hit three of four free throws over a 30-second span that put the lead back at 20, 46-26, at the 4:37 mark to all but seal it.
Prairie View &8212; who had only five field goals the first three quarters &8212; didn&8217;t have another after Oliphant scored right after Swinny&8217;s final free throw.
&8220;I don&8217;t know if we actually showed up, to tell you the truth,&8221; Prairie View head coach Dave Farrell said. &8220;All they did was guard our point guard, and some of our kids didn&8217;t respond. But I&8217;m proud of them. We&8217;ve come a long way from last season. They only won three games last season.&8221;
The first three quarters set the tone for the game, and Prairie View had stretches of three or four minutes where not only did shots not fall &8212; shots didn&8217;t even get taken. The Lady Spartans got off only four shots in the first quarter and fell behind 15-3 before succumbing to the same pressure to start the second.
The Lady Rebels led 23-3 at the 3:33 mark in the second quarter when Laura Guedon hit one of two free throws.
From there the Lady Rebels tried to keep hammering it inside in the halfcourt on offense. Mattie Geoghegan had six points in the third quarter and finished with 10, while her team led 25-9 at half and led 36-10 when she scored on a fast break on an assist from Swinny.