Local

Shelby girls crush Lady Rebels’ playoffs hopes

TERRANCE THOMAS, LTN Sports Writer

Feb. 18, 2002 - SHELBY — West Lincoln girls vs. Shelby girls.

After all the conference games before, it came down to this game Friday to see who would get the fourth and final playoff spot from the Midwest 2A Conference.

But unfortunately for West, Shelby took care of business in the clutch to pull off a 47-39 win to take the final spot.

West led 6-4 after the first quarter but that was before Shelby went to a full-court press in the second quarter to go up 24-18 at half.

In the second quarter Shelby’s Lauren Montgomery led the way with 12 points.

The Lady Rebels made adjustments at halftime. They went to a box-and-one defense with the one player guarding Montgomery.

It worked. Montgomery only scored once in the third, as West cut the lead to 35-30.

Early in the fourth quarter, West forward Jackie Derr made three-point play to close the lead to 35-33.

But Shelby scored to push the lead the four for most of the quarter.

With less than two minutes to play, Lady Rebel Lily Tallent hit a basket to close the game to 41-39.

But in the end, the Lady Golden Lions simply took care of business to seal the win.

First the Lady Lions milked almost a minute off the clock. That left Lady Rebels with few options. So they started fouling Shelby.

The Lady Lions hit all six of their free throws from there.

During that stretch, Shelby forced the Lady Rebels to rush their shots. Stephanie Sain missed two 3-point shots.

Then it was over.

“We got into too much foul trouble early,” said West coach Allen Hoyle. “We had too many turnovers. We had problems with their press. Shelby’s players are a whole lot more athletic. They were the best team on the floor tonight.

“The girls played pretty hard,” he added. “They gave a good effort. When we played them at home, they didn’t hit those free throws down the stretch.”

Derr led West wih 11 points while Tallent added 10. Kaylon Carpenter pitched in with 8.

 Montgomery finished with 19 points against West.

The two teams may meet against in Shelby Tuesday, which is the first round of the conference tournament.

Shelby 56, West boys 41

The Golden Lions jumped out to a 18-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back to best the Rebels 56-41.

Just like the girls, Shelby’s boys had success with the press. Their pressure forced West to turn the over early and often.

“Shelby’s pressure defense killed us,” said West assistant coach Charles Littlejohn. “We didn’t execute on offense. Shelby is a good team but we put ourselves in a bind. We played hard but we came up short.

“You can’t measure heart, he added. “But you won’t get respect until you win.”

West had a chance to get back into the game. The Rebels had closed the Shelby lead to four at halftime. But in the third quarter The Golden Lions outscored West 16-7 to get some cushion.

Shelby cruised to the end in the fourth quarter.

West will probably travel to East Rutherford in the first round of the Midwest Conference tournament.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

Terms and Conditions