No. 3 Oak Hill Ends Lady Squires' Season
February 5, 2019 at 6:30 a.m.
By Dale [email protected]
“They’re ranked No. 3 for a reason. They are who they are for a reason.”
Everett was talking about the Oak Hill Lady Eagles, who beat the host Lady Squires 48-16 to capture their third straight sectional title.
Oak Hill, now 21-3 and headed to Saturday’s regional at Eastern High School to play Lafayette Central Catholic, scored the first nine points and led 11-2 after the first quarter, 20-5 at halftime and 40-7 heading into the final frame.
“Oak Hill has a rich tradition of basketball on the boys and girls side,” said Everett, whose team lost 60-30 at Oak Hill back in November.
“It’s a program that Coach (Todd) Law and his entire staff have built to get to this point. We’re continuing to get to that. We caught them when they were at their best, and we’re still ascending (to get to that level).”
The Lady Squires (17-8) won 17 games this season, a total the program hadn’t reached since 2007, and took an eight-game win streak into Monday’s sectional final.
Their win streak came to a screeching halt, however, as they struggled with turnovers, and with Oak Hill’s height.
Manchester finished the game with 27 turnovers, and Oak Hill dominated the boards, particularly the offensive glass.
Oak Hill’s starting lineup included 6-foot-1 junior Taylor Westgate, who is being courted by a number of mid-major Division I programs, 6-foot senior Adriana Trexler, and 5-9 senior Kaela Robey.
The Lady Squires’ starting five included four players 5-8 or shorter, and Manchester faced a tall task.
“Our main focus was limiting the touches around the rim,” Everett said when asked about his concern with Oak Hill’s height advantage.
“They get those touches two ways ... they either get them off cross-screens or dive-screens for their post players, or they shoot the ball and they hit the offensive rebounds extremely hard. Either way they get the ball within three to five feet of the basket.
“Our defensive strategy was to limit their paint touches, whether that was on the initial shot or on the offensive rebound. We gave up some offensive rebounds, but overall I think we still did a pretty decent job boarding and forcing them out of there. Offensively, it just wasn’t going for us.”
The Lady Squires scored nine of their 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Senior Jirni Cripe led Manchester with five points, while Eva Bazzoni scored four points, senior Emma West three, and senior Kennedy Fierstos and sophomore Emma Garriott two each.
Five-foot-5 senior guard Brittany McCorkle, who hit two three-pointers in Oak Hill’s 9-0 run to open the game, led the Lady Eagles with 15 points.
Trexler and Robey scored 11 and eight points, respectively, and Westgate chipped in with six.
Oak Hill was the heavy favorite to win the sectional, and the Lady Eagles answered that challenge.
They beat a 15-win North Miami team 54-23 in the opener, and followed that up with a 51-20 victory over Wabash, before handling the Lady Squires on their home floor.
“It’s pretty special to win one (sectional title), and for a group of kids to win three in a row is quite an achievement,” said 15th-year Oak Hill coach Todd Law, who upped his career coaching record to 285-75.
“I’m just really proud of the kids and the way they came out. I thought we played extremely well defensively, basically the whole game tonight. I loved our consistency defensively. We knew we had an advantage with some height, and we wanted to limit them to one touch. I don’t know what it ended up in the second half, but we didn’t have them with an offensive rebound in the first half.
“I thought we did a great job contesting their shots, and limiting them to one. We were able to hold them down so we could get that lead. We started well offensively, and then we got to 11 (points) and got stuck there for two days it felt like, but we kind of started pushing it back out in the second quarter.”
Already leading 20-5 after 16 minutes of play, Oak Hill outscored the Lady Squires 20-2 in the third quarter.
While Monday’s loss stings for Manchester, particularly its four seniors, the Lady Squires have plenty to be proud of.
They were 8-1 in Three Rivers Conference play, winning a share of the title for the first time since 2012.
They won two games in the state tournament. Prior to Friday’s sectional-opening win over Rochester, Manchester hadn’t won a postseason game since 2013.
“We had 17 wins for the first time in 12 years,” said Everett. “That means our seniors were in kindergarten the last time that happened. We went 20-5 that season.
“This senior group has been our pillar leaders. We have four pillars ... communication, family, focus and passion. Each one of those seniors is in charge of their pillar and has a group of girls underneath them with that pillar they’re responsible for.
“I think they’ve shown a lot of leadership throughout the year, and they showed it tonight, too. When it got tough throughout the year, they continued to shine through when we needed them to.”
OAK HILL 48, MANCHESTER 16
OH 11 9 20 8 – 48
M 2 3 2 9 – 16
Oak Hill – Brittany McCorkle 6 0-0 15, Jenessa Hasty 0 0-2 0, Lexi Carmichael 0 2-2 2, Abby Shaw 0 0-0 0, Kaela Robey 2 4-8 8, Adrianna Trexler 4 3-3 11, Carlee Biddle 0 0-0 0, Taylor Westgate 2 2-3 6, Kate Hornocker 0 1-2 1, Andrea Wilk 2 1-1 5, Marissa Wilk 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-21 48.
Manchester – Jirni Cripe 2 0-0 5, Kennedy Fierstos 0 2-2 2, Emma West 1 1-2 3, Ranissa Shambarger 0 0-0 0, Kiera Hatfield 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Day 0 0-0 0, Eva Bazzoni 1 2-2 4, Bailey Mooney 0 0-0 0, Beletu Stout 0 0-0 0, Morgan Parrett 0 0-0 0, Kennidy Lauer 0 0-0 0, Emma Garriott 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 5-6 16.
Three-pointers – Oak Hill 3 (McCorkle 3), Manchester 1 (Cripe); Turnovers – Manchester 27, Oak Hill 16; Fouls – Oak Hill 12, Manchester 18; Fouled out – none; Records: Oak Hill 21-3, Manchester 17-8
“They’re ranked No. 3 for a reason. They are who they are for a reason.”
Everett was talking about the Oak Hill Lady Eagles, who beat the host Lady Squires 48-16 to capture their third straight sectional title.
Oak Hill, now 21-3 and headed to Saturday’s regional at Eastern High School to play Lafayette Central Catholic, scored the first nine points and led 11-2 after the first quarter, 20-5 at halftime and 40-7 heading into the final frame.
“Oak Hill has a rich tradition of basketball on the boys and girls side,” said Everett, whose team lost 60-30 at Oak Hill back in November.
“It’s a program that Coach (Todd) Law and his entire staff have built to get to this point. We’re continuing to get to that. We caught them when they were at their best, and we’re still ascending (to get to that level).”
The Lady Squires (17-8) won 17 games this season, a total the program hadn’t reached since 2007, and took an eight-game win streak into Monday’s sectional final.
Their win streak came to a screeching halt, however, as they struggled with turnovers, and with Oak Hill’s height.
Manchester finished the game with 27 turnovers, and Oak Hill dominated the boards, particularly the offensive glass.
Oak Hill’s starting lineup included 6-foot-1 junior Taylor Westgate, who is being courted by a number of mid-major Division I programs, 6-foot senior Adriana Trexler, and 5-9 senior Kaela Robey.
The Lady Squires’ starting five included four players 5-8 or shorter, and Manchester faced a tall task.
“Our main focus was limiting the touches around the rim,” Everett said when asked about his concern with Oak Hill’s height advantage.
“They get those touches two ways ... they either get them off cross-screens or dive-screens for their post players, or they shoot the ball and they hit the offensive rebounds extremely hard. Either way they get the ball within three to five feet of the basket.
“Our defensive strategy was to limit their paint touches, whether that was on the initial shot or on the offensive rebound. We gave up some offensive rebounds, but overall I think we still did a pretty decent job boarding and forcing them out of there. Offensively, it just wasn’t going for us.”
The Lady Squires scored nine of their 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Senior Jirni Cripe led Manchester with five points, while Eva Bazzoni scored four points, senior Emma West three, and senior Kennedy Fierstos and sophomore Emma Garriott two each.
Five-foot-5 senior guard Brittany McCorkle, who hit two three-pointers in Oak Hill’s 9-0 run to open the game, led the Lady Eagles with 15 points.
Trexler and Robey scored 11 and eight points, respectively, and Westgate chipped in with six.
Oak Hill was the heavy favorite to win the sectional, and the Lady Eagles answered that challenge.
They beat a 15-win North Miami team 54-23 in the opener, and followed that up with a 51-20 victory over Wabash, before handling the Lady Squires on their home floor.
“It’s pretty special to win one (sectional title), and for a group of kids to win three in a row is quite an achievement,” said 15th-year Oak Hill coach Todd Law, who upped his career coaching record to 285-75.
“I’m just really proud of the kids and the way they came out. I thought we played extremely well defensively, basically the whole game tonight. I loved our consistency defensively. We knew we had an advantage with some height, and we wanted to limit them to one touch. I don’t know what it ended up in the second half, but we didn’t have them with an offensive rebound in the first half.
“I thought we did a great job contesting their shots, and limiting them to one. We were able to hold them down so we could get that lead. We started well offensively, and then we got to 11 (points) and got stuck there for two days it felt like, but we kind of started pushing it back out in the second quarter.”
Already leading 20-5 after 16 minutes of play, Oak Hill outscored the Lady Squires 20-2 in the third quarter.
While Monday’s loss stings for Manchester, particularly its four seniors, the Lady Squires have plenty to be proud of.
They were 8-1 in Three Rivers Conference play, winning a share of the title for the first time since 2012.
They won two games in the state tournament. Prior to Friday’s sectional-opening win over Rochester, Manchester hadn’t won a postseason game since 2013.
“We had 17 wins for the first time in 12 years,” said Everett. “That means our seniors were in kindergarten the last time that happened. We went 20-5 that season.
“This senior group has been our pillar leaders. We have four pillars ... communication, family, focus and passion. Each one of those seniors is in charge of their pillar and has a group of girls underneath them with that pillar they’re responsible for.
“I think they’ve shown a lot of leadership throughout the year, and they showed it tonight, too. When it got tough throughout the year, they continued to shine through when we needed them to.”
OAK HILL 48, MANCHESTER 16
OH 11 9 20 8 – 48
M 2 3 2 9 – 16
Oak Hill – Brittany McCorkle 6 0-0 15, Jenessa Hasty 0 0-2 0, Lexi Carmichael 0 2-2 2, Abby Shaw 0 0-0 0, Kaela Robey 2 4-8 8, Adrianna Trexler 4 3-3 11, Carlee Biddle 0 0-0 0, Taylor Westgate 2 2-3 6, Kate Hornocker 0 1-2 1, Andrea Wilk 2 1-1 5, Marissa Wilk 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-21 48.
Manchester – Jirni Cripe 2 0-0 5, Kennedy Fierstos 0 2-2 2, Emma West 1 1-2 3, Ranissa Shambarger 0 0-0 0, Kiera Hatfield 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Day 0 0-0 0, Eva Bazzoni 1 2-2 4, Bailey Mooney 0 0-0 0, Beletu Stout 0 0-0 0, Morgan Parrett 0 0-0 0, Kennidy Lauer 0 0-0 0, Emma Garriott 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 5-6 16.
Three-pointers – Oak Hill 3 (McCorkle 3), Manchester 1 (Cripe); Turnovers – Manchester 27, Oak Hill 16; Fouls – Oak Hill 12, Manchester 18; Fouled out – none; Records: Oak Hill 21-3, Manchester 17-8
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