By Darron Thomas
In yesterday’s first semi-final contest the Oak Forest Lady Jackets put together a 36 point second half to eliminate Trinity 52-30 and advance to today’s AA south State Championship game against Brookhaven.
Oak Forest would get out to a strong start and ended the opening quarter up 12-5 over the Lady Saints. But in the second quarter Oak Forest struggled to find any rhythm on offense and was only able to muster four points in the quarter while Trinity put up eight, two of which came on two Lesley Pomeroy free throws to end the half and pull the Lady Saints to within three at 16-13.
(Above) Lesley Pomeroy of Trinity shooting over Cassie Bennett of Oak Forest
A Caroline Ketchings 3-pointer to open the third quarter knotted things up at 16-16. Ashlyn Neal would convert on one of two free throws to put Oak Forest back on top 17-16 and Cassie Bennett’s basket and two free throws would be part of a 6-0 run to build the Lady Jacket lead back to 23-16 with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Trinity’s Sidney McLeod would grab an offensive rebound and score to trim the deficit to 23-18 at the 4:35 mark but Oak Forest point guard Lindsey Oliver would nail a 3-pointer on the next possession to increase the lead back to 26-18.
Trinity, playing without starter Madelyn Cross, hung around and pulled to within six points on a Mary Catherine lles 15 footer with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Cassie Bennett would can two free throws to end the quarter with Oak Forest up 32-24.
In the final quarter Oak Forest seniors Cassie Bennett and Lauren Brumfield stepped up and dominated on the offensive end. Bennett and Brumfield combined to score 16 of the Lady Jackets 20 points as Oak Forest pulled away to win 52-30.
(Above) Trinity's Caroline Ketchings drives around Lauren Brumfield of Oak Forest
Bennet led Oak Forest with 18 points, Brumfield added 14, Ashlyn Neal had 11, Brittani Roy 6, and Lindsey Oliver 3.
Trinity was led by Caroline Ketchings with 7 points, Bethany Ogden added 6, Mary Catherine lles and Lesley Pomeroy 5 each, Sidney McLeod 4 and Danille Givens 3.
The girl’s championship game is scheduled for 2:15 today.
(Above) Brookhaven's Laura Beth Wright nails a jumper inside the paint
In the girl’s second semi-final match up the Prairie View Lady Spartans were looking to avenge a loss they suffered at Brookhaven two weeks ago and it looked as though they were well on their way as they built an early 9-4 lead over the Lady Cougars of Brookhaven. That would be Prairie View’s last lead of the game as Brookhaven finished out the first quarter on a 11-0 run and a 15-9 lead.
A Caroline Oliphant steal and basket started the second quarter and a Logan Tubbs offensive rebound and put back pulled PVA to 15-13. But once again Brookhaven would finish the quarter in strong fashion as they outscored PVA 9-4 culminating on an Anna Mangold basket with 1:22 left in the quarter to put Brookhaven up 24-17 at the halfway point.
(Above) PVA's Logan Tubbs gets a shot over Brookhaven's Anna Mangold
Prairie View came out strong in the third quarter with Logan Tubbs hitting an 8 foot jumper at the 6:33 mark and Tubbs hit another basket on the next possession to pull the Lady Spartans to within three points at 24-21. Caroline Oliphant’s jumper at 5:29 of the quarter pulled PVA to 24-23. Brookhaven’s Terah Winborne nailed a 3-pointer with just over five remaining in the third quarter but Logan Tubbs hit two buckets in less than 45 seconds to tie things up at 27-27. Anna Mangold hit a deuce to give Brookhaven a 29-27 lead heading into the final period.
Prairie View stayed within striking distance in the final quarter and with 53 seconds remaining Caroline Oliphant was fouled as she canned a 17 footer from the baseline to trim the deficit to 38-36 but couldn’t convert on the free throw. Another Anna Mangold basket and a Anna Lofton free throw sealed the 41-36 win in the final 29 seconds.
(Above) PVA's Caroline Oliphant being guarded closely by Brookhaven's Nicole Smith
Sophomore Anna Mangold led Brookhaven with 15 points and 14 rebounds, freshman Laura Beth Wright had 10 points and 10 rebounds, Nicole Smith added 7, Anna Lofton, Terah Winborne, and Marion Allen all had 3.
Prairie View was led by junior Caroline Oliphant with 21 points and 9 rebounds and Logan Tubbs with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Today’s consolation game between Trinity and Prairie View will tip at 1:00pm.
