By Colin Altevogt
Staff Writer
FORT WAYNE â??? Fort Wayne
Concordia Lutheran was cold early Jan. 27, and that icy spell ultimately cost
the Class 3A No. 13 Cadets
dearly.
In a matchup of perhaps the top two players in the Summit
Athletic Conference, Fort Wayne South forward Sha’la Jackson got the better of
her Concordia counterpart, Miami of Ohio recruit Chanell Ridley. South rolled to
a 63-55 victory to remain a game back of unbeaten Fort Wayne Luers in the
conference standings.
Class 4A No. 13 South (16-2 overall, 7-1 SAC) is now looking for
a miracle over the next week. The Archers, whose only two losses all season
have come at the hands of Luers, need a loss by the 3A No. 11 Knights (15-4,
7-0) against either Fort Wayne Elmhurst or Fort Wayne Wayne, two teams with a
combined regular-season conference record of 3-11.
While Ridley, like her Cadet team, was off in the opening stages
of the game, Jackson
could not miss: the 5â??9â? junior scored 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting in the
first half. At times, the Archer star seemed unstoppable. She scored in
transition, created her own shots, and nailed jumpers with hands in her face.
With the Cadets down eight, point guard Angel Fincher nailed a
three with 1:18 remaining in the opening quarter. Fincher, one of the
conferenceâ??s best defenders, pressed South guard Marceya Mingo the length of
the court, at times frustrating the Archersâ?? other junior standout.
South led by five after a quarter, but Concordia (13-4) scored
eight unanswered to start the second. A free throw by South center Demetria
Eley ended a five-minute Archer drought before the Cadets got two more points
on a pair of free throws by sophomore Alissa Goeglein, extending the run to
13-1.
Then Jackson
went to work. With her team trailing by four, she knocked down two quick
jumpers in a span of 13 seconds, tying the game. Jacksonâ??s play sparked a 17-5 South run,and
the Archers threatened to pull away at the end of the first half.
Concordiaâ??s Sara Thieme scored on a fast break with under a
minute remaining in the half, though, ending a 2:30 Cadet drought. But Mingo
scored on a fancy layup on the other end, stretching the lead back to eight
points.
With the clock winding down, Goeglein sank a big three. It was
the only attempt from behind the arc for the normally prolific outside shooter,
and despite the Cadetsâ?? troubles handling Southâ??s full-court trap, they trailed
by only five at the break.
Eley picked up two quick fouls in the first minute of the second
half, saddling her with four. The Cadets, however, could not take advantage of
the lack of inside presence.
Concordia repeatedly cut the lead to a single point, even tying
on one occasion, but would not lead for the rest of the night. South led 44-41
at the end of the penultimate quarter and would not look back from there.
Jackson
put back her own miss to start the fourth. The Cadets, meanwhile, could not
hold onto the ball to begin the quarter, leading to a pair of quick baskets for
South. Forty-five seconds into the final period, the previous three-point gap
had been extended to nine.
With four minutes left, Mingo stole an errant pass and flipped
it ahead to Zaquana Braden for an easy two. The play pushed the South lead into
double digits, and the Archers cruised from there.
Jackson
finished with 23 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. Braden and Mingo
scored 16 and 15, respectively, for the Archers. Ridley put in 17 for the
Cadets, who fall to 6-2 in the standings.
Colinâ??s
end-of-the-season notes
Obviously, I do not have a ballot for all-conference teams. With
only one game left in the girls regular season, however, I feel it is time for
end-of-the-season awards of sorts. Here are the picks from myself and my â??company
to the games,â? stat man Eric Becher.
first-team All-SAC:
– South
second-team All-SAC:
first-team All-SAC:
second-team All-SAC:
– South
So what do you think? Share your thoughts in our Girls Basketball forum.
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