Final Four Review

It's Official!  :::yawn:::  St. E's vs. Ursuline for the Title Again!

Elena Keeps Us Waiting on the Dunk

March 6, 2008

by Jim Charles

Ursuline Academy and St. Elizabeth are, beyond a doubt, the best, most accomplished and dominant programs in the State.  And it's been that way for St. E's since Khadijah hit town and for Ursuline since, well, since 1974.  As someone who attempts to chronicle the progress of these two teams, it has become somewhat difficult to stay excited about the rivalry.  Speaking strictly for DGB.com, we are more than ready to turn a new page -- to get different teams and different faces to the Title Game.  If the Superbowl was played between the same two teams every year, people would quickly tire of it.  It's the same in this situation.  We have UA/St. E's fatigue!

In the opening Final Four Game, we saw Ursuline dispose of Sanford rather easily, 59 - 27.  The Lady Warriors were without the services of junior starter, Allie Kenney.  While this fact did not help Sanford's chances any, it would be hard to imagine a different outcome with Kenney in the lineup.  By halftime, Ursuline led 37 - 11.  Tom and I wondered if we would see the stupid "mercy rule" kick in once UA got up by 35 points, but luckily, the rule seemed to not be in effect for the playoffs.  As for the game itself, Sanford just had no defensive answer to Elena Delle Donne (29 points).  And, what in-state team does?  Last year, Morgan McGill of St. E's held Delle Donne to "just" 15 in the finals.  And that added up to a Lady Viking victory.  But this year, EDD has a little more purpose to her step and will be harder to contain.  She doesn't want her legacy to be that the all-time leading scorer on the all-time best team failed to seal the deal two years in a row at The Bob.  This year, look for Milana Gilbert to draw Elena's number.  If there is a player who can hold Delle Donne to manageable numbers (say, 20 points or less), it's Gilbert.

Your top scorers in the Sanford/UA game were, for Ursuline:  Delle Donne 29 points, Shannon O'Hanlon with 9 and Kayla Miller with 8.  For Sanford:  Jasmine Gibson dropped in 10.  Jamie Milliski contributed 9.  For seniors, Gibson & Milliski, this would be their farewell game.  I'm sure neither will be soon forgotten by Lady Warriors' fans.

The nightcap featured your upstart Hodgson Vo-Tech Silver Eagles pitted against the defending State Champs.  This was a much more competitive affair than the earlier semi-final.  Hodgson even "won" the 3rd quarter, 12 - 9.  And, as we've seen on countless courts before, the Lady Vikings own the third quarter.  But even still, HVT could only get as close as 8 points away in the second half.  Just when they would put together some points, St. E's would cobble together a rally of their own and keep the space between the score.  When the final buzzer rang out, the Elizabethans were on the better end of a 45 - 32 tally.

For the defending champs, Joy Rutland paced the field with 19.  Symone Woody had 12.  For Hodgson, the irrepressible Sironda Chambers led the way with 16, while fellow guard, Asha Jones, had 12.  That meant that only FOUR POINTS came from the rest of the Eagle roster.  Hodgson is a better, deeper team than that.  Perhaps they were a little overwhelmed by their first trip to the semi-finals.

The closest thing we got to a fresh change this year was the emergence of Hodgson Vo-Tech as a true power and a legitimate Final Four team.  While they'll lose star forward Kanzes Battin and A'lisha Jones to graduation this year, everyone else returns.  I'm sure finding another "big" or two is on Coach Chris Jones' wish list.  Even as it is, look for 6' 1" sophomore Tiffany Anderson and 6' 0" junior Chanae Council to contribute more from the frontcourt next season.  And, while she's only listed as 5' 8", freshman Alyssa Cuomo has some serious low-post skills combined with a guard-like quickness.

Random Notes:

The Dunk That Wasn't

 

There were two occasions during the UA/Sanford game where many thought Elena Delle Donne was going to attempt a dunk.  The second of these was especially exciting as the opportunity was perfect for it -- Delle Donne streaking upcourt as a long outlet pass hits her with no defenders in sight.  The entire crowd literally held its breath as she went in for her approach.  Instead of the slam that many were hoping for, she made everyone settle for a nice, right-side layup.  Her fingertips were about one or two inches shy of the rim.

 

Boys and girls are different.  Yup, it's true!  Even when it comes to dunking.  If a boy finds one day that he can do it, you can bet that he'll try it the very next game.  Not so with girls.  Girls hold onto it like it's some great unveiling.  And, even the ones who are best at it (Lisa Leslie, Michelle Snow, Candace Parker) are very hesitant to actually use it.  In their minds, it shows up the other team -- something girls worry about but boys do not.  It also draws attention to the dunker.  Again, something a girl doesn't want.  Something a boy either doesn't care about or actually seeks.

 

I have it on fairly good authority that Elena can dunk.  My source has seen her do it (in practice).  I, for one, would like to see her do it.  The sooner the better, and time is running out.

 

 

Chris Daley

 

Geno Auriemma may not have been there in-person, but he sent long-time Assistant Coach, Chris Daley in his place.  Maybe we'll see Geno Friday night.

 

 

Naiesha Brown

 

In the waning minutes of the Sanford/UA game, freshman, Naiesha Brown put on a crowd-inspiring display of perseverance despite overwhelming odds.  Brown threw her body into the game -- driving hard into bodies in the lane on layup attempts, playing a hard, frantic defense, and just generally showing everyone that if the team had to lose the game, she was going to go down swinging.  This is the kind of play that Archmere put on display in their lopsided loss in the quarter-finals.  In this case, it seemed to be just Brown.  Anyway, good going, Naiesha!

Images from the Final Four Semi-Finals

Sophomore, Olivia Peeke

Shannon O'Hanlon looks for a target while Peeke defends.

Senior, Jamie Milliski, had a nice season.  She'll be missed.

Another valuable senior, Kayla Miller.  Like Milliski, she was an iPOW winner this year.

Sanford "sixth man" Courtney Jones got the assignment to guard Miss Delle Donne.  While any Sanford player on Delle Donne is a mismatch, Jones went at her responsibility with great determination . . . and a lot of handchecking!

Milliski advancing the ball while Erin Edwards pursues.

The Navy-bound Edwards at the WDEL interview table.

DGB.com fave, Milana Gilbert, D's up on Hodgson's Kanzes Battin.

Speaking of faves, we can watch Sironda Chambers play all day.  She's intensity in ten cities!  Here she is driving the ball in against St. E's Amanda Craig.

Alex Massado defends against Ericka Furrowh. 

Massado is one of the unsung heroes for the Lady Vikes.

Amanda Craig goes up with a shot in heavy traffic during the second half.

A neutral school's coach was visiting us in the DGB.com broadcast booth during this game.

What did the coach say?  "This game needs more Asha Jones!"  Asha, for her part, had a nice game.  She came up with a dozen points and was cool and steady despite the adversity.

This is Bud Keegan.  He's a nice guy and a great photographer.  He's got a great website, where you can purchase the photos he takes.  In other words, he's a professional photographer.  This is his business.  He doesn't do articles -- news, commentary, or anything else (as far as we can tell).  Yet, he has a press pass while we do not (DIAA denied our application).  In fairness to Mr. Keegan, he is not the only non-journalist with a press pass at the games at The Bob.  Are we going to keep crying about this?  You betcha!

Jim Charles