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March 9, 2009March 12
March 12, 2009
For 39 minutes of Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game, the Vandebilt Catholic Lady Terriers had to scratch, claw and dig their way out of a hole.
Finally, with less than a minute to play, they tied the contest at 40.
The No. 3 Lady Terriers and their fans at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe must have thought – at the least – the game would go to overtime. Or maybe fate would step in, and Vandebilt could score again before time ran out to claim the school’s first state basketball title.
But St. Michael the Archangel’s KK Babin dashed that hope with a three-pointer to give the Lady Warriors a 43-40 victory, and their second consecutive Class 4A championship.
“We missed an assignment on defense that cost us the state championship,” said Vandebilt head coach Kathy Luke. “I’m still proud of my kids. They played hard and gave it everything they had. St. Michael (38-1) was ranked No. 1 all season, and virtually no one played them close.”
Junior center Theresa Plaisance led Vandebilt with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Brittany Gregoire scored 10 points but also committed eight of the team’s 16 turnovers.
Eighth-grader Alacia LeBlanc had four points; junior Sybil Washington and freshman Leah Washington had two points each; and senior Allison Crosby had one point.
By game’s end, Luke felt particularly upset for her three seniors – Crosby, Amanda Graham and Lindsey Griffin.
“I thanked them for their dedication and commitment to our program,” the coach said. “It’s because of kids like them that our program is where it is today. They set a good example for the younger players.”
Vandebilt (26-8) had a 14-game winning streak in the second half of the season until Saturday’s loss. They defeated No. 2 Carroll Lady Bulldogs 57-37 on Thursday in the semifinals.
“From Christmas until now, we were a completely different team,” Luke said. “A lot of that had to do with LeBlanc. She really matured as a point guard and put us in a position to run our offense, especially our fast break.”
The coach deflected attention away from this being her first title game in 23 years at Vandebilt. She opted to keep the focus on the team reaching a goal they set for themselves.
“I wanted to make sure the kids understood they weren’t failures because they didn’t win the state championship,” Luke said. “You’re only a failure if you didn’t try.”
Vandebilt had three goals coming into the title game: prevent turnovers against St. Michael’s pressure defense, stop their transition offense and get the Lady Warriors in foul trouble because St. Michael did not have a deep bench.
Despite accomplishing those aims, St. Michael’s jumped out a 19-6 first quarter lead and maintained a double-digit lead most of the game.
“We hadn’t done anything wrong defensively. They were nailing three-pointers from everywhere,” Luke said. “I thought if we could overcome their initial surge, we would settle down and adjust our defense accordingly. Then we could chip away at the lead, and that’s what we did.”
On defense, Vandebilt began denying Lady Warrior guards Babin and Jeanne Kennedy the ball. They stayed in man-to-man defense while sagging off players who weren’t scoring, which stalled St. Michael’s offense.
Vandebilt went inside to Plaisance and Gregoire on offense.
“St. Michael’s zone hurt our guard play. They wouldn’t let Allison get any touches,” Luke said.
The second half was a defensive struggle with Vandebilt shooting 7-for-20 from the field and St. Michael going 6-for-20.
Vandebilt battled back into the game and only trailed 40-34 with 5:38 left to go.
After a pair of Plaisance free throws, both teams went three minutes without scoring. Then a lay up by Washington and a jumper by Plaisance tied the game 40-40 with 52 seconds left to play.
Twenty seconds later, Babin nailed the game winning three-pointer.
Gregoire and Plaisance missed three-point attempts in the final seconds.
“I had a timeout, but I didn’t use it. I wanted to stay in the flow of the game,” Luke said. “Plaisance took a three. She got hit on the arm and missed the shot, but the referees didn’t call a foul. So that was the end.”
This was the second consecutive year St. Michael defeated a Houma high school for the title. In 2008, they scored six straight points in the final minute to beat the Ellender Lady Patriots 51-49.
“The only question people asked me during the tournament was, ‘A lot of people think St. Michael is going to blow Vandebilt out. What do you think about that?'” Luke mused. “I told them, ‘I really don’t care what people on the outside think. It only matters what my players and I think.'”
Most of the Lady Terriers’ team will be back next season, including Plaisance and Washington in the post and LeBlanc, who now has a year of experience at the point guard position.
While Luke would like to win a state championship, her biggest concern is not next March in Monroe. Her focus is on November when the new season starts.
“What we’re going to do is go back to work next week,” she said. “Hopefully, if we get put in this position again next year, we’ll have a different outcome. We’re going to handle the end of the game better and make better decisions. We’re not going to wish our way to the top. We’re going to work our way to the top.”
Vandebilt junior center Theresa Plaisance prepares to take a shot over St. Michael’s Jasmine Scott in the 43-40 Class 4A state championship game loss Saturday night. * Photo courtesy of MARGARET CROFT / The News-Star
