The Finals Are Set!
It’s Sanford and Smyrna Set for Friday Night!
By Jim Charles
(posted 3-11-10)
Laney with a jumper
Smyrna 59, Cape Henlopen 55
For Smyrna:
Betnijah Laney: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
Jackie Jenkins: 14 points, 4 three-pointers, 4 steals
Crystal Ross: 13 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks
Team: Shooting 32.7% from the floor; 37 rebounds
For Cape:
Johnesha Warren: 25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Margaret Bartley: 9 points, 7 rebounds
Shanika Evans: 7 points, 7 rebounds
Team: Shooting 36.1% from the floor; 48 rebounds
This game was really a tale of two halves. And if you want to get picky, a tale of the first quarter, then the other three quarters. Cape broke out to a 24 – 7 lead, but then, with about 6 minutes to go in the second quarter, the game slowly ebbed away from the Vikings. Still, Cape was sitting on a 31 – 18 lead going into halftime. Johnesha Warren, alone, had 19 points after just 2 quarters of play. The big name in the game, Smyrna’s Betnijah Laney, by contrast, had only 9 at the game’s midpoint.
But, the Eagles came back to the floor from the break with an awakened sense of purpose. Laney started pushing herself. And it didn’t hurt that she was switched to point often in the final half, putting the ball in her hands on most possessions. She would end up with typical Laneyesque numbers, leading her team with 21 points.
Crystal Ross, the “other” 6 foot plus post on the Smyrna roster, led all rebounders in the game with 16. She had accrued 4 fouls by the start of the 4th quarter, but managed to play in all but 2 minutes of the game and did not foul out.
But for Smyrna, as good as Laney and Ross were – and they were good – the difference maker was guard Jackie Jenkins. While her physical stature may be diminutive, standing at just 5’ 2”, she played every minute at a fever pitch and showed more tenacity than any other player in the game. And in a game like this, that’s going some! Her four three-pointers tore away at Cape Henlopen’s early game momentum, but it was her heroics from the free-throw line with just 13 seconds left in the game – a 2 for 2 performance – that secured the scoreboard in favor of Smyrna and dashed any hopes that the Cape Cinderella Story would carry over to the Title Game.
Smyrna goes into the Title Game with a sparkling 21 – 2 record.
Cape gets to go back to Sussex County with the knowledge that they came oh so close to making First State hoops history. They prevailed over the #1 tourney seed, the then undefeated St. Mark's, in the Quarter-Finals. Then, in the Semis, they were 5 points away from a win that would've sent them to the Big Dance. Good work for a #9 seed! They were fun to watch, have an interesting player mix, and are well-coached. We hope to see more of them next year.
The 6' 0" Betnijah Laney brings the rock up on the 5' 0" Emily Baptiste.
A multi-player tussle for a loose ball
Coach Lamont Hazzard aims to keep his team focused on their mission. Hazzard did an outstanding job this year.
Johnesha Warren had 19 at halftime, but only scored 6 in the second half as Smyrna concentrated their defensive energies on her.
Two of the better guards in this game. In the background, playing D is Jackie Jenkins. With the ball is Margaret Bartley.
Cape's Jaclyn Coveleski listens intently to Coach Hazzard.
Before the season started, I hadn't even heard of Johnesha Warren. And that's not her fault! This is a top tier player who deserved a LOT more attention -- like many downstaters -- from this website.
How do you solve a problem like Betnijah? Well, I don't know that you solve it. Try to keep her under 50 points (she has scored 52 in games before) and hope for the best.
The two photos above of Jackie Jenkins are courtesy Websites4Sports.
Guard Jackie Jenkins was, for our money, THE clutch performer for Smyrna.
Sanford 57, Ursuline 41
For Sanford:
Naiesha Brown: 27 points (11-for-13 from the line), 17 rebounds, 3 steals
Andrea Hines: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Anjaleace White: 8 points, 5 rebounds
Team: Shooting 33.3% from the floor; 44 rebounds
For Ursuline:
Audra Cranston: 16 points
Gab Perrotti: 8 points
Caly Wendel: 6 points
Team: Shooting 31.9% from the floor; 36 rebounds
For a game where neither team made more than a third of their shots from the floor, it nevertheless featured a respectable amount of points (98 total). For Sanford, the math included 18 from the charity stripe, which helped offset a 19 for 57 floor performance. Oh, and it really helped that Naiesha Brown happened to be wearing a Sanford uniform. Her 27 points was almost half of the Warriors’ total output. But Brown was doing a lot more than putting the ball in the hoop. She led all players in the game in points (27), field goals made (8), free-throws made (11), steals (3, tied for first with 2 other players), and rebounds (17). As to her work on the boards, no one else in the game was even close to Naiesha. The next best individual rebounding total was just 6!
For the Raiders, to withstand the Naiesha Brown barrage and still carry a competitive score deep into the game was no mean feat. U.A. actually was on top, 33 – 32 as late as half a minute into the fourth quarter. But in that frame alone, Sanford would light up the Ursulinians 27 – 8. Again in the tournament, we saw Ursuline having a lot of trouble closing out a game. I’m certain that will be 8 minutes of basketball Coach Noonan will have a difficult time forgetting. Beside the fact that the Raiders’ shooting touch deserted them (6-for-21 in the second half), really the biggest red flag on the night had to be protecting the basketball. U.A.’s 21 turnovers translated into 15 Warrior points.
What this night says about Sanford is instructive. Not firing on all cylinders in the Semi-Final, they were still able to put a top team like Ursuline away with a 16 point cushion. This is a team that wins even if everyone doesn’t bring their A game. And that’s gotta be scary if you have to face them.
A tip of the hat to both coaches for clearing their benches at the end and letting their support players have the experience of being on the floor at the most prestigious court in the state.
Should be a wild Final!
The Birthday Girl, senior, Alexa Webb, looks to pass to Amber Genwright, who is barely in the frame at right.
Johanna McMillan lets a long jumper fly.
UA's Meghan Carter only plays the game one way: All-Out. Never to be outdone in the hustle department, Carter grabbed 5 rebounds and made a basket in her 8 minutes of game time.
This literally happened right in front of me and I thought for a second I was about to get run over, both by Meghan Carter and her defender, Olivia Peeke.
The fleet-of-foot and amazingly athletic Amber Genwright of Sanford. Genwright is still feeling her way back from a torn ACL last summer. We hope she's 100% by next season.
Ursuline's Lauren Baker gets court time in the game's waning moments.
The disappointment of the inevitable result is evident on her face.
