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Amanda
Winner found herself trapped on the baseline in a recent game
with New Breman. The
Lady Tigers found a victory that night but
couldn’t find one against Northridge Tuesday. Versailles
lost its first
round sectional game to the Polar Bears 56-52. CNO File Photo by George
Starks
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Versailles
takes early exit in sectional play
Northridge pulls off mild upset
By George Starks
TIPP CITY- Versailles coach Jackie Stonebreaker hasn’t lost a first
round sectional game since the early years as a head coach in Tiger
country. That string was broken Tuesday when the Northridge Polar Bears
dropped a 56-52 loss on the Lady Tigers.
Through the first quarter and a half, Versailles seemed to be in
control, leading by as much as 11 points. That’s when it all started to
fall apart for the Tigers, and Stonebreaker knew it.
“We didn’t have control the entire game,” said Stonbreaker. “I could
see it in their eyes from the tip-off of the game. We weren’t hitting
shots, we were starting to hide. They (Northridge) were starting to hit
shots and they were gaining momentum. They started getting into our
ears and in our heads and we couldn’t go anywhere with it.”
Still holding a four point lead at the break, 23-19, Stonebreaker could
see the writing on the wall.
“We were up by eleven but they just kept fighting back,” Stonebreaker
pointed out. “They wanted it worse than we did. It was not a game that
we usually play. I’ve never seen us play defense like that especially
on one girl. “
That one girl was Cadijah Spears. Spears went off on the Versailles
defense, scoring 29 points on the night. Combine that with 11 from
Gabby Lovato and 10 more from Marissa Reynolds, it all spelled doom in
the end for Versailles.
“There was no help on her from our defense,” Stonebreaker said. “She
found her shot tonight. We can’t have girls scoring 30 points on us and
that’s what she did. Hat’s off to them, they threw a zone defense at us
and that’s been our Achilles Heal all season long and we couldn’t get
anything going tonight.”
Stonbreaker apologized to the teams seeded above Versailles.
“We came in here as a three seed and we came out flat,” Stonebreaker
said. “My girls are embarrassed and aren’t happy. I apologize to the
teams before us.”
Led by Monica Heckman with 14 points, Stonebreaker gave high praise to
her lone senior, Danielle Langston who netted 11 points, a career high
“Dani has been a rock for us this season coming off the bench,”
Stonebreaker said. “She is the reason we didn’t get beat the second
half. She did exactly what I told her to do. Northridge could very
easily have blown us out in the second half, so she played well.”
The loss brought the curtain down on the Versailles season, ending the
year at 14-7 overall.
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