The Versailles Republican Sports

January 6, 2011

2011 edition of the annual Ripley County Girls Basketball Tournament makes for smooth sailing for the South Ripley Lady Raiders in the opener

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer

GARY FRANKLIN PHOTO Pictured above, South Ripley Lady Raider junior Jessica Foster nails the long range 3 pointer over Milan Lady Indian sophomore defender Shelby Ross to give SR a 15-0 lead in their opening game bid of the 2011 Ripley County Girls Tournament held at Milan High School on Tuesday, January 4.

Unless Coach Brian Samples' South Ripley Lady Raiders lay down on him in the championship game of the 36th annual Ripley County Girls Basketball Tournament, it appears that Silver Anniversary honoree SRHS will possibly add another championship to the schools record in 2011.
The 1986 SRHS team led by coach Bev Linkmeyer are the celebrities if you will, for the girls annual RCT this year. They fought their way to the championship title winner spot after games resulting in the following scores: South Dearborn 59-48 East Central, Jac-Cen-Del 38-23 Milan, South Ripley 40-39 Batesville, South Dearborn 49-40 Jac-Cen-Del and South Ripley 54-39 South Dearborn.
That year four SR Lady Raiders earned spots on the girls RCT All-County team and they are likely to carry at least that many again at the conclusion of this year's games. The 1986 SRHS members were: Tammy Poling -MVP, Donna West, Pam Gambrel and Pam Fishvogt.
2011 Girls RCT Opener
Even though the RCT girls tournament site was Milan High School, the opening contest between the South Ripley Lady Raiders and the hosting Milan Lady Indians found Milan the visitor on the scoreboard due to the draw.
Following the singing of "The National Anthem" by MHS senior Stephanie Kirk, Lady Raider action following their gaining control of the opening tip at center court led to a 15-0 SR scoring run. The opening three plus minutes included the Lady Raider flurry of baskets with four Kasey King FG's, a Jessica Foster FG and 3 pointer and a Whitney Walker FG to which she missed the FT offering.
At 4:46, Lady Indian junior Tatajani Marsee scored a FG to break the ice for Milan. Lady Raider Foster nailed another FG before Lady Indian senior Elaina Voss added her first FG of the game for the Lady Indians. Lady Raider senior Rachel Mathes netted a FG and senior teammate Meredith Knollman put the final stamp on the opening period with a pair of FG's to give SR a 23-4 lead at the end of quarter one.
Second period action opened on a positive note for the Lady Indians as junior Shaina Reed scored the old fashioned three point play with her FG/FT combination. Lady Raider Kaitlyn Welch added a FG for SR, followed by a basket by Lady Indian Ross.
With the score 25-9, SR would add 10 while holding Milan scoreless through the remainder of the first half of play. Lady Raider scoring was added by a Walker FG, a Foster FG and 2/4 FT shooting and two more Knollman FG's to end the period, SR 35-9 Milan.
Scoring in the third quarter began with SR's Walker adding a FG before Lady Indian Marsee hit one of her two FT's offerings. Lady Indian sophomore LeeAnna White sank her first FG of the game, which led to Lady Raider scoring of a FG by King, a pair of FT's by Walker and a FG by Foster.
Lady Indian Ross netted a FG, only to have SR's Foster cap it with a FG of her own. Foster added one of two FT's off a called fourth foul on Lady Indian Ross. Lady Indian White made her second FG of the game followed by a FG by sophomore teammate Maria Voss. Lady Raider senior Rebecca Bodenberg would wind up the scoring in the third period with a pair of FG's to end it at SR 50-18 Milan.
Lady Raider Mathes opened the scoring in the fourth period with a FG. South Ripley went on to dominate the quarter allowing only a FG by Lady Indian junior Lydia Ertel, while adding scoring from Knollman's FG and one of two FT shooting, a Welch 3 pointer, a sophomore Allie Linkmeyer FG and a King FG to wrap it up SR 62-20 over Milan.
Quarter Scores
SR 23- 4 Milan
SR 35- 9 Milan
SR 50-18 Milan
SR 62-20 Milan
Individual Scoring
SR Lady Raiders 62
Jessica Foster 16
Kasey King 12
Meredith Knollman 11
Whitney Walker 8
Rachel Mathes 7
Rebecca Bodenberg 4
Kaitlyn Welch 2
Allie Linkmeyer 2
Shannon Adkins 0
Rachel Hensley 0
Milan Lady Indians 20
LeeAnna White 4
Shelby Ross 4
Tatajani Marsee 3
Shaina Reed 3
Lydia Ertel 2
Elaina Voss 2
Maria Voss 2
Shelby Tippitt 0
Staci Ollman 0
Lizzie Fuller DNP
Ashley Ahaus INJ
Game 2
JCD vs B'ville
An anticipated hot contest on the agenda fell short of the mark of expectation as the Jac-Cen-Del Lady Eagles behind coach Scott Smith and the Batesville Lady Bulldogs led by coach Matt Maple evolved on the hardwood as game two of the 2011 Girls RCT opening night.
On taking the floor for the game, the Lady Eagles had an uneasy look about them that is seldom seen in a Smith coached team. As the night progressed, the early signs proved to be the case as they could never quite get a grip on their regular game activity from any player at any position on the court. Yet they found themselves trailing by single digits during fourth quarter action.
Nevertheless, this night the Lady Eagles would not rise to their normal performance level and the Lady Bulldogs would advance to the championship game to take on the South Ripley Lady Raiders, rather than a re-match of last year's tournament where SR held on for a four point, 50-46 OT victory over JCD's Lady Eagles.
Quarter One
JCD vs B'ville
An early sign of unpleasant things to come for the Lady Eagles evidenced itself as senior Alyssa Hammond missed both FT offerings early in the game, leading to a Lady Bulldog senior Fawn Ryan 3 pointer.
Senior Lady Eagle Becca Wagner responded quickly with a FG, spurring a time-out by coach Smith. Lady Eagle Hammond nailed a 15 foot jumper to give JCD a short lived lead at 4-3. However, a foul whistled against Hammond sent Lady Bulldog junior Erin Lanning to the charity stripe where she knotted the game at four with her one of two FT shot connections.
Lady Bulldog Ryan connected on three FG's while Lady Eagle Hammond could score only one, allowing B'ville to take the lead of 10-6. A foul called against Lady Eagle Wagner sent Lady Bulldog freshman Bailey Baumer to the charity stripe where she made both offerings to double JCD's score at 12-6.
A short term Lady Eagle answer came off a 3 pointer by senior Hailee Sizemore, but Lady Bulldog senior Carlee Paul's FG edged the Lady Dogs' lead back to nine at quarter's end, 14-9 over JCD.
Quarter Two
Minimal scoring was recorded in the second period as Lady Eagle junior Amber Crank netted a pair of FT's, Lady Bulldog Lanning added a pair of FG's and Lady Eagle Sizemore scored a 3 pointer leading to a Batesville 18-14 halftime score.
(A final 3 point shot by Lady Eagle Sizemore that went through the net at the horn and would have pulled JCD back to a one point deficit was negated as in its upward bounce off the rim hit the support safety strapping.)
Quarter Three
With the onset of the third quarter, Batesville added six points off three FG's, one each by Lanning, Baumer and Ryan. Lady Eagle junior Meagan Hughes was first to score for JCD with a pair of FT's. Lady Bulldog Baumer and Lady Eagle Hammond offset each other's baskets which was followed by one for two FT shooting by Ryan to make the score B'ville 27-18 JCD at the end of the third.
Quarter Four
Lady Bulldog Lanning scored the first basket of the final eight minutes of play. A couple of minutes later, Lady Bulldog Ryan connected on a pair of FT's which led to an old fashioned three point play by Lady Eagle Hammond with a FG/FT combination.
Lady Bulldog Ryan connected on yet another pair FT's with just over half the period remaining. Lady Bulldog Baumer added a pair of FT's off a fifth and final foul assessed to Lady Eagle Hammond.
Lady Eagle Crank netted a pair of FT's for JCD, but again Lady Bulldog Ryan cashed in on a pair. Lady Eagle Sizemore sank a pair of FT's and again Lady Bulldog Ryan answered in kind. Lady Eagle Hughes drilled a long range 3 pointer with about a minute and a half remaining on the clock, which led to a JCD time-out.
On returning to play, Lady Bulldog Ryan missed on one of her two FT shots and Lady eagle Hughes rose to nail her second consecutive 3 pointer which cut the Lady Bulldog lead back to single digits at 31-40. The Lady Eagles took another time-out.
With just under a minute to play an opportunity again presented itself in spite of the somewhat poorly executed game for JCD. However, desperation befell the Lady Eagles as Lady Bulldogs scored FT's from the charity stripe. Ryan added 4/4 and teammate Baumer went 2/2, claiming the win by a final score of Batesville 46-31 over Jac-Cen-Del.
Quarter Scores
Batesville 14- 9 JCD
Batesville 18-14 JCD
Batesville 27-18 JCD
Batesville 46-31 JCD
Individual Scoring
JCD Lady Eagles 31
Alyssa Hammond 9
Meagan Hughes 8
Hailee Sizemore 8
Amber Crank 4
Becca Wagner 2
Brooke Gilland 0
Emily Huntington 0
Kara Wagner 0
Megan Obermeyer 0
Morgan Young 0
Hannah Kappes DNP
Crista Roberts DNP
B'ville Lady Bulldogs 46
Fawn Ryan 25
Bailey Baumer 10
Erin Lanning 9
Carlee Paul 2
Maddie Lambert 0
Brooke Rohlfing 0
Michelle Grossman 0
Rylee Goldsmith DNP
Madi Osterling DNP
Holly Keck DNP
Megan Forbeck DNP