Silver Eagles Upset Lady Bucs, 54 - 46
December 17, 2007
by Jim Charles
Hodgson's Kanzes Battin catches serious air to get off a shot.
As I sat and watched the JV game that preceded the Hodgson / Caravel varsity matchup, I thought to myself, "Boy, if the varsity contest is anything like what I'm seeing now, watch out!" I couldn't have been more right. As far as the varsity squads go, these are two great, well-coached, talent-laden teams. The Silver Eagles gave the Caravelians all they could handle and forced the Lady Bucs to play catch-up most of the night. Hodgson led at every quarter break, but the darkest hour for Caravel had to be after the third period when Hodgson was out to a 41 - 29 lead. In the final eight minutes, Caravel would mount a counter-attack that saw them outscore Hodgson, 17 - 13, but they needed a lot more than that.
Of the three high school games that I've covered so far, this one was undoubtedly the most fast-paced affair of the lot. Caravel was my pre-season #5 pick. So, what happened? Basically, two things: Broken plays and too much Hodgson. Regarding the former, there were just too many instances where players were not ready to receive a pass under the basket. It also appeared that the Eagles forced Caravel in play action to go to second and third choices rather than their primary option. Otherwise, Caravel did a good job.
A
year ago, I had to be told about junior, Dara Taylor (pictured at left,
15 points). This year, count me as a true believer! Most
impressive about her is her maturity versus last year. A season
ago, I saw her overemotional, sneering at teammates and coaches when
things weren't going well on the court. This year? A
complete change. Now, I see a Dara Taylor who is having fun - even
when the chips are down. And her skills just cannot be denied.
She is a real one-of-a-kind player. Speed, muscle, ball-handling,
outside/inside shooter, defense, and a never-give-up attitude - it's all
wrapped up in Taylor. But, on Caravel, no girl is an island.
In this game, help came from Karona Roach (10 points), Janell Dunham (9
points), Brady Rollins (6 points on two threes), and Ellee Rollins (4
points).
For
Hodgson, I was most impressed with the overall play and leadership of
junior, Sironda Chambers (pictured at left, 14 points). This is
just one excellent player. If free agency was legal in high school
ball, Sironda would have a bunch of teams interested in her. But,
like Caravel, Hodgson is no one-girl team. There's glory enough
for many. Call it Hodgsonian Democracy. Kanzes Battin had a
dozen points. Asha Jones led the team with 17. Ericka
Furrowh contributed 6, While Tiffany Anderson had 5.
Hodgson has been building a program to be proud of under Chris Jones for the last several years. Slowly but steadily, Coach Jones has been assembling top-notch players and molding them into the type of team he wants and knows they can be. This is a team definitely on the upswing.
On this particular night, clearly the better team won. Hodgson deserves praise and recognition. But Caravel has better basketball in them. A year ago, the Bucs started off the season 0 - 2. They lost games they had no business losing. Yet, in the end, they made it to the State Semi-Finals. For Caravel, maybe these early season losses are a good omen.
Random Notes:
Caravel coach, Kristin Caldwell, structures a game well and works her roster as deftly as a coach with many more years experience. And certainly, there is no active coach in the state that I respect and admire more. However, I question the in/out, in/out, in/out shuttling of some players -- particularly as it happened late in the game. Maybe these players have health issues (like asthma) that require them to only play in short bursts punctuated by frequent rests. If so, I beg Coach Caldwell's forgiveness. But if health issues were not the determining factor, then I didn't understand it. Many players need consecutive minutes in order to get in the flow of the game and build personal momentum in their own game. Example: Brady Rollins hits a key three that helps keep her team in the game. Then she comes out. Comes in again, hits another three. Goes back to the bench. Clearly, she had a hot hand. Why not take more advantage of it?
More images from the Game
Danielle Lafferty fires a jumper for the Lady Bucs.
Dara Taylor (#2) and Brady Rollins (#4) team up to trap a Hodgson player.
Asha Jones (#15) takes Karona Roach (#14) to the basket -- unsuccessfully.
Ellee Rollins (left) defends Sironda Chambers.
Caravel's Karona Roach isn't the easiest player to shoot over.
Nevertheless, Hodgson's Kanzes Battin attempts it.
Dara Taylor keeping her teammates calm.
*** The purpose of this page, like the rest of this site, is to promote girls basketball in the State of Delaware. This is hard to do if individual players cannot be singled out.
However, I will honor all requests by players or parents to remove their/their daughters' names and/or images from this review. I will also gladly correct any misspelled names, or add names where now I list only a player uniform number. Just email me. *** DelGirlsHoops@aol.comJim Charles