Pandas Nail Down Late Season Upset Over Lady Bucs, 49 - 35
Jezyk's 20-point Performance Carries Padua
Katey Briggs protects the ball from encroaching players Dara Taylor (#2) and Liz Wise (#32).
February 16, 2008
by Jim Charles & Tom Dunn
Wins have been hard to come by at Pandaland this season. In fact, Padua loses two for every one they win, and they are without a single victory within their conference. Moreover, Padua has no superstar, marquee players. No one girl who can carry the entire team on her back when the going gets tough.
These were reasons enough for even diehard Panda backers to not expect much going into Friday night's contest with Caravel Academy. True, the Lady Bucs have taken their own fair share of hits this year. Nevertheless, they've played slightly better than .500 ball, and their schedule is among the toughest in the State. They came to 9th and Broom heavy favorites.
So, what happened? For one thing, the Caravelians had one heck of a time finding the basket. The Buccaneers went a very long stretch of the game with Dara Taylor scoring the only field goals for her team. In fact, when the final buzzer sounded, taking Taylor's numbers away, the rest of the team had a grand total of just five baskets from the floor! To be fair to the victors, Padua put together a great defensive strategy and got high marks for execution and follow through.
Defensive standouts included Erin Pitcher, who was even more physical than usual; Katie Jezyk, who could teach clinics on proper positioning and footwork; Kelsy Panella, whose middle name is Intensity; and Katey Briggs, who finally was allocated some real minutes and did not disappoint. Panella's strong suit is as a play breaker. No Panda anticipates opponent passes better. Briggs' forté is her sheer physical strength and mental determination. Yes, she'll rack up the fouls. But, she'll offset that with the more positive aspects of her game -- intimidating opponents, rebounding and forcing jump balls.
On the offensive end, Katie Jezyk was the big story. She hit only four baskets from the floor, but had an immaculate, truly remarkable performance from the free-throw line, going a cool 12-for-12! Not to be overlooked in this wonderful shooting feat is what put her there in the first place -- a knack for drawing fouls.
Other nice efforts for Padua included Erin Pitcher (9 points), Katie Shields (6 points) and Kelsy Panella (5 points).
Caravel simply could not get in their comfort zone. The cold shooting that marked the start of the game contributed to an unwanted spiral. Shots became forced, possessions tense and out of synch. Offensive mainstay, Dara Taylor knocked down 13 points -- a sweet night by most players' standards -- but not by hers. Padua keyed on her, but had she been on her game, that likely wouldn't have mattered. Dara, when she's on, can pick apart any team's defense. In this case, she simply had a rare off night, as did most of her teammates. It was the combination of Taylor's off night added to Jezyk's "career" type night that were the two biggest gifts thrown into Padua's lap.
Caravel scorers included Liz Wise with 6 points, a soph who keeps on getting better and better, and senior, Karona Roach, also with 6.
After the game, DGB.com caught up with Katie Jezyk for an exclusive interview. Fittingly, we will let her words finish the story:
"Since we're an all-girls school, it's kind of like a sisterhood. We're all really close, and that affects our playing. We played tonight to win. We stayed focused the whole game. We didn't worry about playing poorly. We played together. In basketball, everyone works together. You can't just have one person doing it all."
Images from the Game
Caravel's Karona Roach watches the shot as it comes off Katie Jezyk's right hand.
Danielle Lafferty with the short jumper.
The frustrations of the night show on junior point guard, Dara Taylor's face.
Seniors were honored prior to the game. Here's three in one picture! Eileen McCusker looks to inbound while Karona Roach and Danielle Lafferty apply pressure.
Kelsy Panella winds up for a deep three-point attempt.
Another honored senior, Katey Briggs, holds the ball while Mackenzie Chrisco challenges.
Elizabeth Wise (#32) made an impression on us at the Diamond State Classic. She still has two more seasons of high school ball left to play! Blessed with good size and not afraid of anything or anyone, we can't wait to check in on her in the seasons to come.
The "Girl of the Hour", Katie Jezyk (#11) listens intently to her coach during a timeout.
Katie Shields (#21, Padua) plays tight defense on ballhandler, Danielle Lafferty as Lafferty looks at teammate, Janelle Dunham.
*** 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