Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

Princeton Times Sports

Discussion

March 5, 2010

Tigerettes secure sectional

ED ROBINSON Princeton Times

OAK HILL —  In an awesome display of heart and grit, the Princeton Tigerettes captured the sectional basketball championship at Oak Hill on March 1.

After trailing by as many as seven points, Princeton’s offense and defense hit on all cylinders in the fourth quarter to snatch a 50-43 victory over Woodrow Wilson. The tense, defensive struggle had fans sitting on the edges of their seats. In the final quarter, the Tigerettes tallied 20 points, while holding the Lady Eagles to eight points, to record the victory. During the final period, the tenacious Tigerette defense held Woodrow Wilson to a single field goal. The two teams split their regular season games.

In their first game of the sectional tournament, Princeton upended Nicholas County, 50-47, as they overcame a 13-point deficit. McKenzie “Zee” Akers scored the winning goal with four seconds remaining on the clock.

Tigerette Cheyanne Walker bucketed the first goal in the Woodrow Wilson game, but the Lady Eagles dominated the first quarter, claiming a 15-10 advantage. Early in the second period, Woodrow Wilson tallied a field goal to extend their lead to 17-10.

The Tigerettes clawed their way back to trail at 19-18 just before the break. Lady Eagle three-point specialist Haley Snyder canned a shot beyond the arc seconds before the half to put the Lady Eagles ahead 22-18.

Early in the third period, Woodrow Wilson continued the Eagles’ 10-0 run to lead 29-22. The third quarter ended with the Lady Eagles holding a 35-30 advantage. At this point, a positive outcome of the game for the Tigerettes appeared highly questionable.

With a potential defeat staring them in the face, the Tigerettes put together one of their strongest fourth quarters of the season. They tied the score at 39 and 41 and took the lead on Krystle White’s driving layup with 2:15 left in the game.  Overall, Princeton outscored their opponents 20-8 in the period on six of 13 shooting from the field and with Akers converting eight of 10 foul shots. Meanwhile the Lady Eagles made six of 10 foul shots and were a miserable one of 15 from the field.

For the game, Princeton was not exactly scorching the nets with their shooting from the floor. They made only 33 percent of their field attempts, but this performance was far better than Woodrow Wilson’s anemic 19 percent accuracy.

In the past, the Lady Eagles’ talented undersized post player, Ashley Chipps, had often been a thorn in the side of Princeton. In this game, she struggled offensively, converting only two of 17 field goal attempts. Chipps seemed to be bothered by the height and defensive efforts of Princeton’s frontcourt players — Cheyanne Walker, Brittany “CD” Lankford and Mary Beth Miller.

Despite the Tiger win, Woodrow Wilson dominated the rebounding with a commanding 23-12 advantage on the offensive boards. Overall, Ashley Chipps jerked down 17 rebounds while teammate Monique Rhodes collected 13 caroms. Pacing the Tigerette rebounding effort were Cheyanne Walker (13 rebounds), McKenzie Akers (eight rebounds) and Krystle White (seven boards).

Akers led the Tigerette scoring with 24 points, including 14 of 17 at the foul stripe. White bucketed 12 points while Walker and  Hannah Preservati each contributed six points. Miller contributed a field goal off one of her offensive rebounds. Lankford was saddled with foul difficulties, but she blocked three shots. Kendria Perkins, who sustained a knee injury during the Nicholas County contest, saw limited action.

Haley Snyder tallied 15 points, including four three-pointers to pace the Woodrow Wilson attack. Olivia Moore added 13 points while Ashley Chipps scored seven points.

After the press deadline, Princeton faced Ripley on March 4 at home in the regionals. Earlier this season, the senior-laden Lady Vikings edged the Tigerettes 63-55 on Jan. 26 at Princeton.

Princeton fans will long remember the Tigerettes’ gutsy performance during these sectional games.

Text Only
Business Marquee
Princeton Times
Princeton Times Obits
Princeton Times Sports