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Wilmington upsets unbeaten Miami Trace

Thursday, 03 January 2008

By BILL LIERMANN

Sports Writer

WILMINGTON — On a night that Julie Earley reached the coveted 1,000 point plateau at Wilmington High School with a first quarter trey, it was her driving basket in the closing seconds which made the difference as the Lady ’Cane defeated previously unbeaten Miami Trace, 47-46.

The victory gives Wilmington an overall record of 8-3, while the Lady Panthers fall to 10-1. It was a hotly contested ballgame featuring seven ties and four lead changes. Trailing by a 46-45 score with 0:10.4 seconds to play in regulation, WHS coach Doug Rinehart said Earley wanted to have the opportunity for the potential game winning shot.

“Julie is such a competitor and she wanted the ball on that last play. After getting in foul trouble, it hampered her ability to score but with the game on the line, she wanted it badly,” he said.

After getting the inbounds pass, the WHS senior drove around her defender and banked the shot off the glass to put the Lady ’Cane in front, 47-46, but the Panthers still had one last chance. They had six seconds remaining, and had to go the length of the floor.

“We wanted to get the ball to Jenna (Cobb) because she is our quickest player on the floor,” said Miami Trace head coach James Stutzman in designing the possible game-winning shot for the Panthers.

However, Wilmington defended her, and the Panthers had to go to their next option, freshman Ashley Lawson. Her corner shot missed the mark and Wilmington grabbed the rebound as time expired.

“We did not execute the screen we needed to get Cobb her shot, and we could not get the offensive rebound that we needed,” Stutzman said.

The victory was a big one for the Lady Hurricane, and Rinehart said it helped erase bad memories of last years’ encounter with the Panthers.

“We lost to them by 44 last year, and we’ve been looking forward to this game all year. It is a huge win for us and I credit our desire tonight. You could see it in their eyes. Each of the girls had that look… it was in their eyes. I think that maturity-wise, it was a big one for every one of them,” he said.

Miami Trace bolted out to an 8-2 lead before Wilmington made things close, as Earley drilled a three-pointer from the top of the circle to cut the Panther lead to 8-5 at the 4:22 mark, and in doing so, she eclipsed the hit 1,000 career points. WHS eventually tied the game at 14-14, at the end of the opening quarter. A pair of quick fouls sent Earley to the bench, and she was held scoreless during the second and third periods.

Behind the efforts of Andrea Gifford, who scored eight in the second period, the Lady ’Cane outscored the lady Panthers, 13-8 to take a 27-22 lead at halftime. Cold shooting at the free throw line hampered Miami Trace as the team missed five of nine chances at the charity stripe in the first half.

Gifford added a pair of third quarter buckets giving her 16 points for the game, leading the Lady ’Cane in scoring. In the third period, the Lady Panthers outscored Wilmington, 15-12 to pull within a basket, 39-37 as the third quarter ended. Cobb, who was limited to one field goal in the opening half, came back strong in the third quarter with seven points and added four more in the final period.

Also keying the Panther’s second half comeback was Nancy Coulter, the Panther’s post-player, with six in the third period. Coulter and Cobb each scored 13 to lead the Miami Trace. The inability of the Lady Panthers to cash in at the free throw line continued in the second half, as they converted on just one of three chances, including missing a pair of one and bonus opportunities.

The Lady Panthers resume with South Central Ohio League action at Madison Plains on Saturday. Wilmington will take a trip to Cincinnati, facing Turpin, who handed the Lady ’Cane one of their three losses earlier this season in Fort Ancient Valley Conference action.

“That one still hurts. We lost to them here and we have a chance to avenge that loss,” he said.

SUMMARY

MTHS 14 8 15 9 — 46

WHS 14 13 12 8 — 47

(46) MIAMI TRACE (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Lawson 3-0-1-7, Bryant 1-0-1-3, Cobb 5-1-0-13, Hull 2-0-2-6, Brust 1-0-0-2, Strahler 1-0-0-2, Coulter 6-0-1-13, Team Totals 19-1-5-46.

(47) WILMINGTON (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Gifford 6-1-1-16, Sodini 1-0-0-2, Hinton 1-0-0-2, Crowe 2-0-1-5, C. Earley 3-0-0-6, Craycraft 1-0-0-2, J. Earley 4-2-0-14. Team Totals 18-3-2-47.