Glen Oaks dominates, dropping Vandy ladies 58-31

A year prior, Vandebilt Catholic and Glen Oaks met in a double-overtime state playoff game that was considered to be one of the most exciting games of 2006.

This year’s meeting between the two squads last week proved to be quite the opposite. In the semi-finals of the Ladies’ Top 28 Tournament, defending Class 4A champion Glen Oaks made quick work of the Lady Terriers, winning 58-31.

But for all intents and purposes, the Lady Panthers had the game in hand from the start, jumping to a 20-5 lead after the first quarter. By halftime, Glen Oaks held a dominating 36-12 lead and coasted through the second half for the win.

Vandebilt head coach Kathy Luke said the reason for the loss was simple. “We played a team that was just better then us,” he said. “We’re young and we’re inexperienced, and I think it showed tonight. Glen Oaks is a very good basketball team, and we knew that coming in.”

If the Lady Terriers had not known that before the game, it would not have taken long to realize it during the game. Keyed by an explosive performance by Kelly Stewart, the Lady Panthers got off to a hot start. Stewart, who scored 15 points on the night, connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter, one of which was tightly contested by a Vandebilt defender.

“The Stewart kid can shoot the three with a hand in her face,” said Luke. “We tried to deny her. We couldn’t. They’re a good basketball team. They’re better than us.”

With just over two minutes in the first quarter, Glen Oaks held a 12-5 lead. Stewart connected on back-to-back threes for an 18-5 lead.

To start the second quarter, Glen Oaks extended its lead to 27-5.

Just as hot as Glen Oaks was, Vandebilt was cold offensively. In the first half, the Lady Terriers shot 3-for-18, and for the game 7-for-32. Glen Oaks head coach Janice Charles said a reason for that was her team’s ability to keep Vandebilt’s Sumar Leslie from penetrating. “We didn’t concentrate on stopping her by just singling her out,” said Charles. “We just wanted to close the gap so she wouldn’t be able to penetrate, because we know she likes to drive and penetrate. Basically, (we) did just that — stopped her from penetrating.”

Leslie finished with 11 points on the night, but nine of those came from the free-throw line.

While Vandebilt played closer in the second half, the game’s outcome was all but decided. “They are what they are,” said Luke. “We knew everything they were going to do. We watched tape on them, we just couldn’t stop what they do. They were just better than us tonight.”

Still, without a senior on the roster, Luke is determined to get her team back to the Ladies’ Top 28, a place Vandebilt had not been since 1988. “We’ll be back,” she said. “And when we come back, we’ll be more experienced, we’ll be more poised, we’ll be better. But we will be back, I promise you that.”