Theatre
March 3, 2008March 5
March 5, 2008
Ellender Lady Patriots head coach Kenneth Dixon said his girls weren’t “hungry enough,” to clinch a back-to-back State Championship Saturday in Hammond.
Despite a nine-point lead at halftime, and a two-point lead with 1:22 left in the game, the Ellender Lady Pats lost 51-49 to Baton Rouge’s Lady Warriors of St. Michael before a crowd of 4,140 at the Top 28 Tournament at the Southeastern Louisiana University Center.
Ellender, the number one seed, had one last chance to clench the victory, however Da’Jeane Jones missed a desperate 3-point shot at the buzzer.
“We did the best we could with what we had,” Dixon said. “St. Michael’s played better and smarter – they deserve to be champions, and we’re runner-ups to them. It’s just that simple, no excuses.”
“They played an excellent defense and are well coached. They put pressure on the ball, four people in the lane,” the head coach said. “They just played like they wanted to win, and that’s what usually happens when you want it more.”
“And when you’re hungry for it, you usually can get it – my hat’s off to them and their program. When you can win a State Championship with 10th graders on your team, that’s special to me as a coach,” he said.
“I’m dealing with youngsters here. They won one last year; they were hungrier last year. This year, they weren’t as hungry. They’ve been there, done that,” Dixon said. “But I’ve had teams in the past and they wanted to win every year. This is not one of them.”
The Ellender Lady Pats have appeared six times in the Top 28 Playoffs, have played 10 games and have won four titles – 2007, 2003, 2000 and 1999. The team has also placed twice as a runner-up, including Saturday’s game.
“Basketball is a simple game and we try to make it difficult, but it’s not,” Dixon said.
A prime example, he said after the game, came in the third quarter when starter Asia Williams fouled out of the game.
“That was huge,” Dixon said. “We have to be smart – and we’ve been playing ball long enough to stay out of foul trouble. We needed that scoring. Also, we didn’t show any patience at the beginning of the game, which kept them in it.”
This was the third time this season Ellender played St. Michael. The Lady Pats won 48-39 in November, and 47-39 in December.
“It’s hard to beat anybody three times,” Dixon said. “They were just following us around because they knew they had to play us down the road, and that was real smart. As a coach, you always try to play the best teams.”
“But they got better each time we played them and today, they were very good, very, very good – extremely good. I knew they would be. I saw them the other night playing Glen Oaks, and they executed very well with patience. And they’re only in the 10th grade. That’s what I think is the scariest fact about them, and it’s going to get scarier at least the next couple of years,” Dixon said.
The St. Michael Lady Warriors beat Glen Oaks in the semi-finals, 61-47, winning the state title in their first tournament appearance.
Deana Allen and De’Jeane Jones were the only two Lady Pats to score double points. Allen had 12 and Jones, 16. Allen also had six rebounds.
Kerry Hampton had six points and eight rebounds; Latika Smith, 9 points and three rebounds; and Asia Williams, 6 points with three rebounds.
Allen, Williams and Jones are seniors; Hampton and Smith are juniors.
Jasmine Scott of the St. Michael held the game high scoring with 26 points and nine rebounds. She was voted the outstanding player of the game.
“We’ve been denying her touches all year but today, evidently, we could not get that done, and once again she was our assignment. Once she catches the ball, you have a choice to foul her or else she scores and then goes to the free throw line – that’s basically what happened,” Dixon said.
Ellender Lady Patriots head coach Kenneth Dixon urges his team to stay hungry during Saturday’s State Championship in Hammond. Ellender fell to St. Michael 51-49. * Photo by HOWARD J. CASTAY JR.
