Fillies fall
to Apache Ladies in Region XIV tourney
Longview News Journal
Monday, March 12, 2007
JACKSONVILLE — Hot shooting early in the first half got Panola out to a double-digit lead in the Fillies' Region XIV Conference tournament semifinal game against Tyler.
After the Fillies weathered Tyler's storm, which saw the Apache Ladies come back to tie the game at halftime and then take a 71-61 lead with 7:08 remaining, the free-throw line doomed Panola. The Fillies pulled to within a point, 72-71, with 5:09 left, but Tyler's shooting from the charity stripe propelled the Apache Ladies to an 85-74 win and a berth in the tournament final against Blinn on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Vivian and Bob Smith Events Center.
After hitting seven triples in the first half, Panola connected on just one in the second, but used a fullcourt press to battle back into the game once Tyler pushed its lead to 10 points. But the discrepancy at the line was marked. Tyler hit 34 of its 40 attempts, while Panola shot a respectable percentage, but needed more than an 8-for-11 performance from the charity stripe to overcome the second-half deficit.
"We made some mistakes down the stretch. We had a couple situations where we stole the ball on the press and ended up turning it over," said Panola coach Tracey Stellato, who led the Fillies to a 21-11 season record. "It's not just the free-throw discrepancy. We had some execution errors. You have to give Tyler credit. They did a great job of stepping to the line and hitting them. It's a tough one to lose."
Seventeen of Tyler's final 19 points came from the free-throw line. The Apache Ladies made only one field goal in the final 7:24 of the game, but managed to hold on for the win.
Panola launched an early air raid as Kim Edmonson and Tiffanie Johnson each hit three 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the game, pushing the Fillies to a 15-point lead twice in the first 10 minutes. But after Panola took a 28-13 lead just under the 10-minute mark, Tyler did its best to slow the tempo, and the Apache Ladies' size and physical nature in the halfcourt game allowed them to outscore the Fillies 27-12 the rest of the half to tie the score, 40-40, at intermission.
Jamia Malone came off the bench to join Laquisha Cook with 19 points apiece for Tyler, while Kristin Moore hit all eight of her free throws for 14 points. Krystal Van Hook added 10 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for the Apache Ladies.
Panola's Dominique Sims scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and finished with nine rebounds. Johnson finished with 15 points, while Edmonson had 14, 12 of which came in the first half. Point guard Beata Widding had four points, eight assists and four offensive rebounds, while Satara Harrell finished with four points, nine boards, three steals and three assists. Melissa White did her usual dirty work on the defensive end with six steals, five coming in the second half.