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Ripley, WV -
Capital
06 20 12 11 =
49
Parkersburg South
12 14 17 17 =
60
South Scoring:
Danielle Floyd 18, Taylor Phillips 12, Ali Morris 9, Kim Stephens 8,
Kayla Ayers 7, Sarah Harvey 4, Asia Greenleaf 2.
Capital Scoring:
Garland 18, Garland 14, Reynolds 7, Gardner 6, Mitchell 4.
South Statistics:
Rebounds, 26 (Ayers 6); Assists, 10 (Stephens 3); Steals, 6
(Floyd 2); Turnovers, 25; Free-Throw Shooting, 78%;
Field Goal Shooting, 21-65 (32%); 3-Point Field Goals, 4-15 (27%).
Capital Statistics:
Turnovers, 26; Free-Throw Shooting, 7-11 (64%); Field
Goal Shooting, 20-62 (32%); 3-Point Field Goals, 2-15 (13%).
Cougars have yet another
sad ending
Jacob Messer,
Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter
Wednesday February 28, 2007
RIPLEY -- There are twins who
share an uncanny connection that no friends -- not even lifelong bosom
buddies -- can match.
It often results in the
siblings simultaneously feeling the same emotions, speaking the same
words or having the same thoughts whether they are two inches or two
miles away from each other.
So, it came as no surprise to
see a synchronized scene unfold Tuesday night after Capital High lost
another heartbreaker to its newfound girls basketball nemesis,
Parkersburg South, 60-49.
As the teams' coaches and
players walked single file toward each other for the traditional
postgame handshake, Capital twins Shawnita and Shawnice Garland grabbed
the tops of their jerseys with their right hands and used the collars to
wipe away the tears trickling down their cheeks.
For the sisters, the pain of
the loss wasn't merely doubled because of their bond; it was quadrupled
for another obvious reason ... as in four consecutive losses, which is
the frustrating streak the Cougars have compiled against the Patriots in
Region 6 finals over the past four seasons.
This time it was another
victory for third-ranked Parkersburg South, which earned an opportunity
to defend its Class AAA state championship with its win over No. 2
Capital. The South win not only ended the Cougars' season, but also a
19-game winning streak.
Most girls basketball
observers thought this season would be the one in which the Cougars
eliminated the Patriots instead of vice versa.
Capital's win in the teams'
only regular-season meeting (62-55 on Dec. 23 in Charleston) only
reinforced that notion.
"I don't know what it is,"
said Capital Coach Steve Freeman, whose team was 68-8 in regular-season
games and 4-0 in sectional games but 0-4 in regional games over the past
four seasons. "It seems like it's something different every year."
Although they have won three
consecutive conference championships, the Cougars (21-2) haven't
advanced to the state tournament since Kanawha County greats Lisa Lee,
Alexis Hornbuckle and Renee Montgomery led them to the state title in
2002.
"This is frustrating,"
Freeman said, "because you know deep down in your heart you have had
opportunities to win, but you just can't get over the top."
The Garlands, senior guards
who will continue their careers together at Division I Cleveland State,
weren't available for comment after the game that ended their impressive
but empty-handed run at Capital.
"They must have snuck out the
back door," Freeman said as he emerged, without the twins, from the
visitors' locker room here at Ripley High School.
The girls State Tournament
opens next Wednesday at the Charleston Civic Center. Second-seeded
Parkersburg South (21-3) will face No. 7 seed Nitro (13-10) at 7:15 p.m.
on March 8.
"It's a shame that, with the
way our (postseason) system is, (Capital) isn't going to be in the State
Tournament," said Parkersburg South Coach Scott Stephens, whose senior
class became the first in school history to advance to the state
tournament in each of its four seasons. "I hate that for them."
A capacity crowd of about
1,000 fans watched a back-and-forth game between two of the state's top
teams, although neither one played like it.
Parkersburg South had 23
turnovers and made only 21-of-56 field goal attempts; Capital had 32
turnovers and made only 20-of-63 field goal attempts.
"I think that was just two of
the best defenses in the state up in each other's grills," Freeman said.
There were seven ties and
four lead changes, the last of which occurred at the 1:53 mark in the
third quarter. Sophomore guard Danielle Floyd swished a 3-pointer for a
39-38 advantage.
A putback by freshman center
Asia Greenleaf and a jumper by junior forward Kayla Ayers provided the
Patriots with a 43-38 lead, and the Cougars never were closer than four
points the rest of the game.
Shawnice Garland had a
double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds -- both game highs -- for the
Cougars, whose winning streak ended at 19 games. Shawnita Garland
followed with 14 points.
Floyd led the Patriots, who
have won 16 of their last 17 games, with 18 points. Senior forward
Taylor Phillips, who has signed with Division I Bucknell, added 12
points.
South rises again
Patriots deny No. 2 Capital trip to state
tournament
By Mike Whiteford, Charleston
Gazette Staff writer
RIPLEY — There were the
occasional fleeting moments when it looked as if Capital would finally
end Parkersburg South’s Region 6 stranglehold.
The Cougars’ Shawnita Garland
hit four straight second-quarter baskets, including back-to-back
3-pointers, for a brief Capital lead and some momentum, and the Cougars
led by two late in the third quarter.
They stayed close, in fact,
until the game’s final minutes, but Parkersburg South ultimately won
another Class AAA Region 6 girls title, holding off Capital 60-49
Tuesday night at Ripley High School. A capacity crowd of more than 1,000
attended.
It gives the No. 3 Patriots
(22-3) their fourth straight region championship, and all four came
against Capital in similarly agonizing fashion. It sends the defending
state champions to the state tournament, which begins a week from today
at the Charleston Civic Center, and ends the Cougars’ season, despite
their No. 2 ranking and final record of 21-2.
“It’s a shame the way our
system is that that team is not going to be in the state tournament,’’
said Parkersburg South coach Scott Stephens. “I hate that for them.
They’re great kids. It’s a shame that it comes down to one of us not
going.’’
The Cougars and Patriots,
Stephens noted, have developed quite a Region 6 championship-game
rivalry.
“Last year was
double-overtime. Two years ago, [the Cougars] were 23-0 when we played
this game,’’ he recalled. “And we’ve just been the lucky one.’’
The Patriots built a 49-41
advantage early in the fourth quarter and appeared in command, but six
Shawnice Garland points — two baskets and two free throws — helped the
Cougars rally within 51-47 with 3:18 left.
From there, however, South
outscored the Cougars 9-2, hitting 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch
to take control. Danielle Floyd led Parkersburg South with 18 points on
6-of-7 shooting, and Taylor Phillips added 12 points, including a 7-of-8
effort at the foul line.
“Blame it on the coach,’’
said Capital coach Steve Freeman. “We can’t seem to get over the hump.
We need get everyone involved in the game, and we weren’t able to get a
lot of people involved.’’
Stephens suggested that his
team’s superior depth made a difference, especially in the second half
when the Patriots and their full-court pressure seemed to wear down the
Cougars.
Shawnita Garland, who
finished with 14 points, hit five shots in a row spanning the second and
third quarters but missed her final eight tries. As a team, Capital sank
just 4-of-18 shots in the fourth quarter.
“I think we had them
physically tired,’’ said Stephens. “We kept running people in, trying to
keep fresh bodies on them in the second half. I think we got ‘em
tired.’’
The Parkersburg South
pressure, he said, took its toll on Shawnita Garland.
“In the second half,’’ he
said, “we kept different people on her, and we were picking her up full
court. I think we wore ‘em down a little.’’
Shawnice Garland led the
Cougars with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Shawnita, who missed parts
of the first and second quarters because of foul problems, scored her 14
points on 6-of-16 shooting.
“Those two Garland girls are
special kids,’’ said Stephens. “I love ‘em both. For us to beat them
four years in a row is just pretty incredible.’’
“I thought we played hard,’’
said Freeman, “but I don’t think we played particularly smart at times.
We had some matchup problems defensively at times. And we didn’t rebound
well.’’
Like Stephens, Freeman said
it’s unfair that two of the state’s top three teams were forced to face
each other in the regional.
“It’s a shame that you have
two of the best teams in the state playing here instead of in Charleston
[at the state tournament],’’ he said.
By STEVE
HEMMELGARN, Parkersburg News & Sentinel
RIPLEY — Parkersburg South is state tournament-bound again.
In a Region VI finals duel here Tuesday night pitting the defending
Class AAA girls state champion Patriots against No. 1-ranked Capital at
Ripley High School, South prevailed 60-49 in the second half after a
26-all standoff at halftime to do what no other Patriot basketball team
— girls or boys — had ever done before — make four straight appearances
in the state tournament.
And the heroes were many for South (21-3), which met — and defeated —
Capital (22-2) for the fourth year in a row in the regional title tilt,
but perhaps none more so than sophomore Danielle Floyd, who tallied a
team-high 18 points, including a key 11 with three treys in the third
quarter.
After the Cougars grabbed a quick 30-26 lead to open the third quarter,
Floyd popped in a trey from out front and then another from the left
wing to bring to the Patriots even at 32-all at the 5:27 mark. Then she
tied it again at 4:34 on a runner cutting across the lane before giving
South the lead for good in the game, at 39-38, with less than two
minutes left on her third 3-ball of the period.
Asia Greenleaf followed with a rebound bucket at 22.8 seconds and Kara
Longwell canned a clutch 13-footer from the left side just before the
quarter buzzer sounded to lift South into a 43-38 advantage going into
the final period.
‘‘Danielle Floyd really came through tonight,’’ said South head coach
Scott Stephens. ‘‘She hit some threes when we needed them really bad.
When we needed to score, she got it done for us tonight.’’
Floyd said actually hoped she’d have a good game in the regional finals
‘‘because I wanted it really bad.’’
In the fourth quarter, though, the Cougars clawed back within four
several times. But South was able to thwart Capital each time. Once on a
Taylor Phillips (12 points) hoop, another on a slick pick-and-roll pass
inside for a layup from Floyd to Kim Stephens (8 points) and two
Phillips free throws to start a string of seven South foul shots in the
final 1:04 as the Cougars had no recourse but to foul.
‘‘This is unbelievable; I’m glad we were able to pull it out tonight,’’
said Kim Stephens, one of four seniors on the South squad.’’
Ali Morris added nine points for South while Capital was led by the
Garlands —18 points from Shawnice and 14 from Shawnita.
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