Check it Out!
February 26, 2007Yvonne Cuneo
March 1, 2007
For the past three years the Ellender Lady Patriots have suffered disappointing defeat after disappointing defeat in the early rounds of the state playoffs. This year, the Lady Patriots put the past behind them and will return to Top 28 Tournament for the first time since winning the Class 4A title in 2004.
The Lady Patriots punched their ticket to Hammond with a convincing 57-38 win over Archbishop Chapelle.
They faced Ponchatoula on Tuesday night, at Hammond.
Leading the way for Ellender was Deana Allen, with 19 points. Kerry Hampton added 13.
Lady Patriots coach Kenneth Dixon said the team is excited about its return to Hammond. “You got to understand, we go to the Sweet 16 five years in a row, we think we belong in the thing every year,” he said. “Then for three years we don’t go. We are excited about it.”
Early on, Chapelle gave the No. 2 team in the state a tough match up. Playing a zone defense, the Lady Chipmunks made it difficult for Ellender to penetrate to the basket, and forced them to be patient.
However, the Lady Patriots’ patience paid off, and they led 14-10 after the first quarter. Still, the Lady Patriots did not separate themselves until late in the second quarter. With the score 21-18, Ellender finished the half on an 8-2 run to lead 29-20 at halftime.
“I knew (Chapelle coach) Christy Thieler … was going to come in with a game plan to slow it down,” said Dixon. “Once we built a little lead, I knew it wouldn’t bother us to slow it down because that’s what we want them to do. Come out of the zone and guard us man-to-man, because I think we’re quicker.”
When the Lady Chipmunks were forced to switch to a man-to-man defense, the Lady Patriots took advantage by penetrating to the basket and getting easy lay ups. “We felt like we had a tough time matching up with them on the perimeter, in man-to-man,” said Thieler. “We tried to avoid it as long as we could, but eventually had to go to it. They just hit shots from everywhere on the floor.”
In the third quarter, Ellender stretched its nine-point halftime lead to a 44-29 advantage. The closest Chapelle got the rest of the way was 51-38.
“Just playing Ellender on the road is tough for a regular season game,” said Thelier. “It’s always a tough road game, and probably one of the more brutal road trips for a quarterfinal game. I really feel like Ellender would be denied no more. They refuse to be denied. They’ve been knocked out early the last couple of years and you could see that they were driven to go this year to the Top 28.”
