After dropping semi to Brownsburg, No. 3 Jeff downs No. 2 Carmel in consolation game
By KEVIN HARRIS Kevin.Harris@newsandtribune.com The Jeffersonville News and Tribune Wed Dec 29, 2010, 11:59 PM EST
NEW CASTLE — It was a bittersweet day for the Jeffersonville girls’ basketball team Wednesday at New Castle Fieldhouse.
The Class 4A No. 3 Red Devils began the day by recording a season-low point total in a 44-32 setback to Brownsburg in the semifinals of the City Securities Girls’ Hall of Fame Classic. But they rebounded in a huge way in the consolation game with a 56-28 victory over 4A No. 2 Carmel.
Even though the Red Devils came up short of winning its first Hall of Fame title, Jeff head coach Chad Gilbert thinks the experience of playing in the annual holiday tournament will help his players in the upcoming months.
“We’ve still got two goals — to win the conference and the sectional,” Gilbert said. “Hopefully, this will help us down the road.”
All you had to do was look at the final statistics to see how much the Red Devils’ offense struggled.
Jeff shot 22 percent from the floor (12-of-54) and 7-of-24 from the free-throw line (29 percent).
Brownsburg stifled the Jeff offense with a matchup-zone defense. The Bulldogs (10-2) placed their guards in the middle of the free-throw lane. That allowed them to double-team the Red Devils’ frontcourt trio of Jalynn McClain, Brooke Valentine and Lakin Roland while daring Jeff to shoot from the outside.
“They did a good job in their matchup,” Gilbert said. “We didn’t take advantage of free throws and layups.”
McClain was the only Jeff player to score in double figures. She scored a game-high 12 points, as she was 4-of-14 from the field and 4-of-15 at the line. She snagged a team-high eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Valentine tallied nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. Roland matched McClain’s rebounding total with eight, but she scored only three points as she misfired on 12 of her 13 shots.
Red Devil point guard Jamice Williams had a solid floor game. The senior had five points, five rebounds, a game-high four steals and a game-high four assists while committing only one turnover.
The Jeff defense’s primary focus was Brownsburg sophomore Stephanie Mavunga. The 6-foot-2 center recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs. She did most of her damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and snagging five boards. Mavunga blocked a game-high seven shots.
Gilbert was pleased with the way his team’s 2-3 zone handled Mavunga.
“Our defense did a great job on her, but the last quarter — that was not us,” Gilbert said. “Our game plan was to go at Stephanie inside.”
The Red Devils were on a mission in the consolation contest as they held Carmel, which entered the tournament averaging 65.5 points per game, to a season-low scoring output.
Jeff scored eight of the game’s first nine points and went on a 12-0 run in the latter stages of the first half, as it led 29-12 at halftime.
After the Greyhounds (12-2) sliced their deficit to 33-22 at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter, the Red Devils concluded the stanza with an 8-1 spurt to go up 41-23. The 28-point final margin was Jeff’s largest lead of the contest.
Gilbert said he did not have to deliver a pre-game pep talk because his players were already focused after their semifinal loss.
“There was no magic stuff,” Gilbert said about the Red Devils’ mental preparation between games. “The kids stepped up and accepted the challenge. We got the same shots this morning, but this time they went in.
A Red Devil who was extremely motivated was Roland. After struggling in the semifinal, Roland registered a double-double with game highs in points (23) and rebounds (12). She shot 8-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line to go along with four steals.
Roland was really productive in the second quarter. She tallied 16 points, connecting on six of her seven field-goal attempts.
Gilbert hopes that Roland can carry the momentum from her consolation performance over to the Red Devils’ upcoming games against Corydon, Charlestown and Castle.
“If she rides that momentum, then she’s going to be hard to handle. She was that good tonight,” said Gilbert, who mentioned that Roland cried for the first time after a loss in her prep career Wednesday.
McClain also had a solid game against Carmel. She tallied 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting and six rebounds.
Gilbert lauded the effort of Williams and Jeff senior guard Kasey Falkenstein after the contest. Williams had eight rebounds, a game-high five steals and a game-high three assists. Falkenstein snagged nine boards and made three steals.
“I thought Kasey played hard and Jamice showed a lot of heart and character,” Gilbert said.
Senior Torrie Thornton, a Purdue recruit, led the Greyhounds with 13 points and a game-high four blocks. The Red Devils held Carmel to 18 percent shooting (9-of-51).
Jeff will travel to Corydon Tuesday.
Jeff (11-1) — McClain 12, Valentine 9, Williams 5, Kinnaird 3, Roland 3.
Brownsburg (10-2) — Mavunga 12, Carr 11, Dall 9, Lesch 5, DeVaney 2, McKemie 2, Reinhart 2, Miller 1.
3-point field goals — Jeff 1 (Williams); Brownsburg 4 (Carr 3, Lesch).
Rebounds — Jeff 35 (McClain, Roland 8); Brownsburg 38 (Mavunga 10).
Turnovers — Jeff 13, Brownsburg 19.
Jeff (12-1) — Roland 23, McClain 19, Valentine 6, Kinnaird 4, Roberson 2, Williams 2.
Carmel (12-2) — Thornton 13, Williams 6, Langlois 4, DeFruscio 2, Irwin 2, Dean 1.
3-point field goals — Jeff 1(Roland); Carmel 3 (Thornton 2, Langlois).
Rebounds — Jeff 47 (Roland 12); Carmel 28 (Dean 8).
Turnovers — Jeff 18, Carmel 20.
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