Lady Devils edge Centralia
Sunday, January 20, 2008 6:10 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
rmccorkle@tdn.com
Printable version
E-mail this articleChad Meadors finally got his wish.
After four straight games of lackluster play in the first half, his Lower Columbia College Lady Devils put together 40 minutes of solid play to knock off Centralia 63-60 in NWAACC Western Division women's basketball at Truman Myklebust Gym on Saturday.
"That was a great game," Meadors said. "The kids executed the defense in a tight game, and we got out to a great start which helped us all the way through."
The victory was the sixth straight and the 11th in the last 13 outings for LCC, now 12-4 and 5-0 in the division. Centralia, which was tied with LCC atop the division standings, falls to 13-5 and 4-1.
"We wanted to come out and play a first half, which we haven't done in awhile," LCC guard Nadra Evans said. "We really stepped up and played well defensively. This was definitely a huge win for us, probably the biggest one so far this season.
There were some tight moments for the Lady Devils, particularly in the final 3:30 after Heidi Jackson drilled a three-pointer for a 62-55 lead. Centralia's Ali Mattisons countered with a trey of her own moments later, and after a pair of freebies from Woodland's Alysha Kofstad, the Blazers trailed 62-60 with 47 seconds left.
Jackson led all scorers with 20 points, which included hitting all 10 of her free throws. The freshman from Rainier also grabbed six rebounds and made four steals.
LCC's Katie Garcin missed a short jumper with 17 seconds remaining that would've iced the game, but the Devils got the ball back 14 seconds later when Centralia's Corrina Allen was whistled for an offensive charge on LCC's Jessi Hanna.
Kofstad fouled out when she grabbed Hanna on the inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds remaining. Hanna netted the second of two freebies for a 63-60 lead, and Woodland's Megan Peabody bounced a halfcourt shot off the rim as time expired.
"Jessi stepped up and took a charge towards the end of the game when we really needed it," Meadors said. "That takes a lot of heart and courage."
The contest was physical from the opening tip as both teams battled for position with aggressive play under both baskets. Referees whistled 50 fouls in the game, including 28 against the Lady Devils.
"We had to adjust a little," Meadors said. "We wanted the game physical and wanted to get up and get after it.
The referees called a lot of fouls but we weren't going to stop playing the way we play."
None of LCC's players fouled out, but post players Garcin and Renee Evans each finished with four, and six other players registered three apiece.
The Lady Devils went on an 11-0 run to start the game, while Centralia missed its first seven shots and had seven turnovers during the seven-minute span. The Trailblazers finally got on the scoreboard on a pair of free throws from Amanda Atcheson, and added a pair from Deanna Riffe to trail 11-4 with 12:48 remaining.
"That start to the game had the energy that we've been missing in our previous four league games," Meadors said.
"We couldn't shake them (the Trailblazers) offensively because they also did a good job defensively. We didn't get good looks at certain points of the game, but our defense was there to carry us."
Centralia pecked away at its first-half deficit and trailed 24-22 following an Atcheson freebie with six minutes left, but seven straight points including a 3-ball from Jackson, propelled the Devils to a 31-27 lead at the break.
"We could still get better," Meadors said. "We put ourselves in a few bad positions because we didn't play disciplined. We're getting there, and I believe we're a lot better than we were a month ago."
Kelsey Forrest came off the bench for 11 points and five rebounds, and Garcin pulled five caroms. Nadra Evans added four assists and Kourtney Craft made three steals.
For Centralia, Peabody made half of her six three-point attempts and finished with 15 points in 27 minutes. Kofstad had two points in 18 minutes before fouling out, and Mark Morris High grad Teresa Gaul started and was held scoreless in eight minutes.
The Lady Devils visit Highline Monday.
Lady Devils 63, Trailblazers 60
CENTRALIA (60) �
Amanda Atcheson 15, Corina Allen 7, Jill Fuller 4, Teresa Gaul 0, Mandy McFadden 0, Megan Peabody 15, Deanna Riffe 13, Ali Mattisons 3, Alysha Kofstad 2, Frannie Morrison 1.
LOWER COLUMBIA (63) �
Heidi Jackson 20, Jessi Hanna 9, Nadra Evans 8, Katie Garcin 7, Holly Weston 2, Kelsey Forrest 11, Kourtney Craft 6, Kristina Craft 0, Megan Holmes 0, Renee Evans 0.
Halftime: LCC 31, Cen 27.
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